There’s a Difference Between Knowing and Learning by Rick Warren

“You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself” (Daniel 5:22 NLT).

God won’t teach you something new until you’ve put into practice what he’s already taught you.

God isn’t in the business of simply satisfying your curiosity. He tells you something and waits for you to act on it. Once you act on it, then you get to go to the next step.

You see, God wants you to apply the truth you’ve learned.

And you haven’t learned something until you’ve done it.

It’s not enough for you to tell people you believe the Bible. You must do what the Bible teaches.

If you don’t do what the Bible teaches, you don’t really believe it.

That’s what we see in the story of Belshazzar in the book of Daniel. He lost everything because he didn’t put into practice what he’d already learned.

He pridefully refused to learn the lessons that God had taught his grandfather. His empire fell because of that.

The Bible records Daniel telling him, “You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself” (Daniel 5:22 NLT).

Belshazzar saw Nebuchadnezzar literally lose his mind for about seven years because of pride. He saw all the mistakes his grandfather made. He saw his grandfather come back and correct those things. He saw the good and the bad in Nebuchadnezzar’s life, and he chose to ignore God. Belshazzar chose to ignore the lessons.

So God took away his kingdom.

Belshazzar knew, but he didn’t learn. We need to understand the difference between knowing and learning. You can know a lot of things, but if you don’t act on them, you haven’t learned anything. God wants us to be doers of the Word, and that means he will support us as we step forward in faith, applying the things he’s taught us to do.

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Talk It Over

How has God taught you something new immediately after you’ve applied the last thing he taught you?
Is there something God has taught you that you haven’t put into practice yet? If so, are you willing to take that step so you can keep growing?
How has your faith been strengthened by watching other Christians apply the truths God has taught them?