“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
These two verses comprise my life verse from the Bible. I first came across this verse in my teenage years and it’s been my favourite ever since. I always come back to the simple but powerful truths in these verses. I have experienced over my lifetime that it is always a temptation to “ lean on my own understanding.” When things get difficult it is easy to start rationalizing or renegotiating with God. We easily fall back to things that have worked in the past or what is safe to do going forward. It is not so easy to trust God when things are going wrong. As a matter of fact it becomes easier to blame God for the circumstances that are happening. We begin to trust ourselves rather than trusting God. We may see some results when we trust ourselves, but we will miss out on the opportunity to see God show up in a great way. This is true in every aspect of our lives and not just in the ministry part of life. As the verse says, “ acknowledge Him in all of your ways.” That means trusting Him in the big ministry plan we have planned or just trusting Him on a normal Wednesday afternoon in a regular week of life. The same thing that gives us eternal life and faith in Christ is the same thing we are called to on a daily basis. Trusting the Lord with all of our hearts does not happen at salvation, it is a daily process of stepping out in faith and trusting Him. God will meet us there. On the mission field, at work, at home, in the park, in the doctors office, or hospital. Wherever, He is good! He will make our paths straight. This is a lesson I will put into practice today as we take Alicia to the doctors office. In the last week she has experienced two petit mall seizures where she has blanked out of conciseness. We are trusting God that she will be ok and that the doctors will find the root of the problem. God is good!
In order for God to direct one’s path, a person must be doing whatever he or she already knows to be right. Obedience activates God’s promises. To depend on one’s own understanding of truth and life means to disregard God’s will. No one can predict the outcome of his or hers deeds. That is why wholehearted trust in the Lord is absolutely necessary and essential.
🙏 Father God, give me that absolute trust and will to obey You in all things. I acknowledge that so often I lean on my own understanding instead of trusting You completely. Lord I need to trust You in all things and give You the praise and honour in all things. That is easier to do when things are going well but entirely necessary also when things are hard and trials set in. Increase my faith O Lord. In the name of Jesus I pray.
Amen