"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
This past week an acquaintance wrote to me, "I'm so very thankful for everything in my life, including the 'set backs' as they may be protecting me from something worse." Here is a prime example of a woman living out Solomon's admonition in today's Bible verse. Trusting in the Lord with all her heart, even when things don't go as planned.
Trusting God in this way brings freedom. Freedom from fear and anxiety. Freedom from trying to micro manage our lives, which in my opinion (and experience) is exhausting. Charles Bridges writes: “This trust is not the mere cold assent of enlightened judgment. It is trust…with all your heart. It is a childlike, unwavering confidence in our Father’s well-proved wisdom, faithfulness, and love.”
Our Heavenly Father loves us, and He never intends anything but good for His children. We may not understand the process He ordains to accomplish His will, but we must trust His motives. They are always pure.
I like what David Gruzik has to say about Proverbs 3:5-6.
"When we:
· Decide to put our trust in the LORD.
· Decide to not trust in our own understanding, but give attention and priority to God’s revealed word.
· Decide to acknowledge and honor God in all that we do.
When we do those things, we can trust that God will direct our paths. We can go forward in peace, believing that through His word, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, through the counsel of others, through godly common sense, and through life circumstances, God will direct our paths. We will walk along our way of life and come to see that we have been on the path God intended all along."
Today's music video Lord, I Trust You by Selah is a song of encouragement to trust God in the worst of circumstances, knowing that He is with us every step of the way.
I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.
A great reminder to always count on the Lord for wisdom and guidance in life. He will always be there and guiding us.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and love,
Betsy
The Hebrew idiom "to walk in His ways" means to keep the Law (that is, the Law of God, aka the Law of God given by the hand of Moses aka the Law of Moses aka the Word of God aka the Will of God). So the straight way here is to make your way, His way.
ReplyDeletePersonally, my favorite Proverb is 6:23: "For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching* a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life". It's the proverb from which we get the phrase the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Thus linking the Word of God (Jesus) with the Word of God (Torah).
* The Hebrew word here is Torah. In most cases, Torah gets translated as law, and most Christians only know it as such. But in meaning, it is far closer to teaching or instruction. So it's always a pleasure to see the translators treating it properly.
I agree with what your friend wrote, it's important to come to the place of thankfulness and trust in order to have "the peace that passes all understanding" because God truly does know what is best for us. Like you, I've experienced the exhaustion of trying to manage in my own strength and don't want to live like that anymore! Thank you for your thought-provoking posts Nancy!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite verses. I memorized it in 3rd grade.
ReplyDelete