TRUST IN THE LORD

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
[5] “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [6] Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Solomon was reported to be the wisest man who ever lived. Wisdom was God’s coronation gift to him at his request. The two books in the Bible attributed to him are packed with wise statements and wise counsel. We would do well to heed what he wrote and build on the foundation stones of wisdom he left for us.

However, there is one attribute of Solomon that overrides all his wisdom which we should never follow…his disregard for his own counsel. Ironic, isn’t it, that Solomon was guilty of transgressing the three prohibitions God gave to the kings of Israel. They were forbidden to amass wives, wealth, and horses. Solomon’s great kingdom was split in two because he failed to heed his own God-given wisdom.

How important, then, that we heed Solomn’s words but do not follow his example!

Another solid rock to build on is the counsel to put God in the centre of all our decisions and actions. Adam fell from fellowship with God and dragged the entire human race with him for transgressing this basic truth. He thought he was choosng independence but he inadvertently fell for Satan’s lie. He didn’t gain independence…he changed allegiance. To his loss, and the loss of humanity, he fell into the clutches of the worst of slave-drivers, God’s arch enemy, the devil.

We are privileged, as redeemed children of God if we have submitted ourselves to Jesus as Lord, to have God’s Spirit in us. Jesus promised that He, the Spirit, will guide and empower us to live under God’s direction, free from the clutches of Satan who wants to drag us down with him into eternal punishment.

However, God leaves that decision to us, whether we will trust Him and do His will or continue to drive ourselves into punishment and loss if we choose self-will over His will.

Our decisions will depend on what’s in our heart and what influences our understanding. We have already laid one foundation stone…to guard our hearts. Now we must also allow truth to guide our understanding.

We must choose the boundaries around our hearts that keep in the good values that guide our lives. We must also protect our minds from allowing into them the bad influences that will lure us away from the values and practices that keep us on track towards our destination.

Trusting the Lord with all our heart is essential to a life under Jesus’s authority. A divided heart will disqualify us from receiving God’s guidance and protection. He will not respond to a heart that flip-flops from trust to doubt, from faith to fear when the going gets tough.

James 1:5-8 NLT
[5] “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. [6] But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. [7] Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. [8] Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

So, we do well to follow John’s counsel…

1 John 2:15-17 NIV
[15]”Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. [16] For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. [17] The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

…and to pray David’s prayer which as relevant to us as it was to him.

Psalms 86:11 NIV
[11]”Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

As we examine the truths upon which we build our lives, our foundation stones, the counsel of God’s Word is beginning to form a solid platform for a godly life! Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom! To fear the Lord, we need an undivided heart. Reliance on God with an undivided heart will open us to God’s guidance and counsel. To reach our destination, we need a straight path. God will make our paths straight when we rely on Him, seek His counsel, and do what He tells us!

God’s Word comes together and makes sense!