“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
How can we know God’s will for our lives – how can we know what choices to make? About 20 years ago, I adopted Proverbs 3:5-6
as my “life verse.” Circumstances entered in my life that were totally out of my control. During one of these trials, I read the above verses at just the right moment and I knew that the Lord would show me the way to take if I just learned to trust Him. The Lord proved these verses out in my life and each time thereafter!
This is not just a frivolous use of the word – today’s text is talking about truly and totally trusting God. The word says to trust Him with all your heart. This truly defines the word, don’t you think? It’s knowing that beyond a shadow of doubt, God will work the issues out and you can rest in that! It’s recognizing that your own logic, thoughts, and actions are not enough and, yes, can be wrong. Is God who He says He is or isn’t He? Is He not the Creator? Is He not our Saviour? It’s easy to say, “Yes, He is my Saviour.” But do you really trust Him completely or just with some things? After all, you trusted Him with your salvation so why not with all of the rest of the details in your life?
Why is it so important to trust in the Lord and not ourself – our own devices? Proverbs 3:6 says inall your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. I think of all the things my eyes behold in a given day – all the things my ears hear in a given day – my food, my housing, my job, etc. When we acknowledge that the Father has created and provided for each detail in our lives, we have a good start 
When we are on the verge of making a mistake and that still small voice of the Holy Spirit guides us in a different direction, acknowledge God’s goodness. When we are given an opportunity to witness for the Lord, acknowledge Him and give a testimony of what He has done in your life. Proverbs 3:6 tells us to acknowledge Him in all our ways. Each area of our lives should point to Him. Our testimony at our job, our relationships, etc. should point to Him. Seek Him in all the decisions we make. When we do this, a promise lies waiting for us – He promised that He would direct our path!
Faith in God comes by hearing about Him and seeking Him with all our heart and it results in finding Him (Romans 10:17, Jeremiah 29:13). The Lord wants to help us – it is evident in His word! His word not only points us to our sinful nature but also provides us with the way to salvation! After one has repented and accepted the free gift of salvation, (s)he is a child of God. God desires to show His children exactlywhat His will is for their lives. You would not leave your children in darkness as to what is expected of them nor does our Father in Heaven. We are convicted of sin by the preaching of the word and/or in reading God’s word. The Holy Spirit pricks our hearts, we repent and we grow. If we are consistently moving forward in our spiritual walk, God reveals Himself more and more through His word. If we are rebelling and not repenting, we will not receive the promises contained in His word. It stands to reason. Today’s text shows us that the promise comes if we are trusting in Him with all our heart. One who is deep in sin is surely not in this frame of mind.
I believe our worst enemy is ourselves. Never trust your heart (your emotions) when making decisions. Remember Jeremiah 17:9. It coincides beautiful with Proverbs 3:5. When we lean on our own understanding (our heart), we will go down the wrong path. It is our “nature” to satisfy our flesh – it is our nature to be wicked. So we will naturally make the wrong decisions and for the wrong reasons. It takes effort to make spiritually good decisions. Therefore, it is best to trust in the Lord and seek His will rather than use our own reasoning. A good example: You know that you need to find a new job and in a different geographic location. Your gut (your heart) points you to a certain place – everything is perfect about this location. Except for one thing: there isn’t a church. Your heart says yes, but would God lead you in a direction where you would not have fellowship with Christians or a church where you could get your spiritual fuel? You can force the issue and ignore the Lord. But heartache and misery will only result. Instead, pray for God’s will in the whole job situation. He will provide you with a location that will meet your needs and will bless you in the long run. Remember, our hearts will always steer us in the wrong direction because it is sinful. When we seek after the things of God and delight ourselves in Him, He promises to direct us. (Psalm 37:3-6)
We have God’s own words to help us, the Scriptures. It is in His word that we find the words of life (John 5:39), the paths we are to take (Psalm 119:105) and answers to any issue in life (Proverbs 4:20-27). The Lord, Jesus Christ went through the same things in life as we did and stands ready to help us! (Hebrews 4:15) The child who truly seeks to please his Father will be guided in His will. The best thing one can do in seeking God’s will is to be in His word! Every answer to every question in life can be found in it. One must take the time to search.
God’s answers to our questions may be yes – sometimes they are a clear no. But the hardest one is “wait.” Our flesh wants answers now but sometimes it is best to wait. (Psalm 27:14) If you haven’t received clear direction, stay put – read, pray and continue down the path you know to be right. Godwill reveal His will in due time.
No comments:
Post a Comment