January 9 Believe It!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died, more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:28-39

These two passages seem to be favorites especially among older, more mature, Christians. They speak, in a nutshell, the best, least stressful way of walking with the Lord. That does not mean, however, that putting these passages into practice is easy. They speak of a learned practice, a trust gained over time that is the true, “worry free philosophy,” from God Himself.

Let’s begin by breaking down Proverbs 3:5-6 into its various parts.

“Trust in the LORD,” Because He is trustworthy and has earned that right.

“With all your heart,” Are you working on rewriting your heart drive? Which is more trustworthy, you or Him? If your heart is being rewritten, then you know which is a safer bet. But, all your heart? Well, if your heart before Christ is deceitful, and God is the God of truth, why not?

“and lean not on your own understanding” We don’t know it all you know. I remember hearing once a very good explanation of why it is not good for us to judge. Put simply, when a situation involves us, we can’t be impartial, but God can. We always see our point of view best. Our way of understanding always tends to favor our side. God, however, loves all equally and is for all equally. Our understanding is flawed, but His is not. He knows the “why,” even if we don’t. When we can trust Him and obey even before we know or understand, He will be pleased with our obedience that demonstrates our trust in Him.

“in all your ways acknowledge Him” Submit everything to Him. Give Him the credit, (praise), for what He has done or is doing. As the author, He deserves the byline to your life, when you are doing life His way. It’s only right. It acknowledges Him and glorifies Him to others.

“and He will direct your path.” Could you do that? Could you really hand the wheel to Him and sit in the passenger seat? I like the passenger seat better than the back seat. It’s too easy to fall asleep or start to drift and miss things back there, but in the passenger seat, you can continue in good conversation, stay aware and provide help, or participate, as needed.

When we trust that all things are working together for our good and that He will never let go of us, it becomes easier to live that Proverbs 3:5-6 life that we’re talking about. The Romans passage explains why we can have so much confidence to trust, follow, acknowledge and be guided. He has our best in mind. Do you believe it?  It’s one thing to say, “yes,” and another to prove, “YES!” Go for it and leave the driving to Him.

Trust in the Lord