This year my New Year verses came to me very loud and clear. They are familiar verses, but God has impressed upon me that it is possible to become so familiar with verses that I think I believe them, that I am living by them, when really, I have much more to learn.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6
This is what is so amazing about God’s word…verses that I have known for years all of a sudden take on a deeper meaning.
Words I have memorized I suddenly read differently.
Those little words like “ALL,”and “DO NOT.”
God’s love for me is relentless!
God wants ALL my Trust
God wants ALL my heart
God DOESN’T want me to depend on my own understanding
God wants me to seek Him in ALL my ways
Because then, God will show me what path to take!
God loves us too much to leave us knowing what He says, but not doing what He says.
Knowing what God’s word says is only the beginning.
Doing God’s word, is living the way we were created to live.
When we trust in anything or anyone other than God we won’t give the glory to God. Our story about that situation and the result of how that problem was solved will include whatever or whoever we trusted in to help us. We will give credit to ourselves or to others instead of God. But, because I am God’s child He wants my stories to give Him glory!
When we depend on our own understanding and figure out how to solve our problems according to our knowledge, or look to google or an expert for the answers we limit ourselves to man’s understanding, man’s experiences, and miss out on an opportunity to realize the incredible power and love of God. God’s ways are so much higher than ours and His thoughts are so beyond ours and by depending on our own understanding we won’t experience the specific answers God has designed uniquely for us.
We will miss the very things meant to increase our trust!
When we don’t seek God for the ways we should go we are bound to make some wrong choices. We will reap the consequences of choosing our own way based on our feelings and on what makes sense to us. God has planned a destiny for each one of us before the beginning of time, meant to impact those around us and many generations beyond us, but we won’t discover it if we don’t seek His ways.
The blessing in obedience results in receiving the promises of God. God promises that…
“He will show you which path to take.”
Every day we are faced with situations that demand we make choices; relationship issues, financial issues, health issues, reports from the media…
In this ever-changing world knowing how to respond or what decisions to make is so needed. But that is what makes this promise so amazing! This is a promise from God who never changes, but is the same yesterday, today, and forever! It is a promise that I want to receive, and so I need to do my part.
But, this is my dilemma…
I know what these verses say; I have them memorized since I was a child.
But, do I completely obey them?
Yes, there are times when I respond with full trust in God and allow Him to work out the situation in His time, and in His ways, and I have seen amazing answers to my prayers.
But, there were other times when I reacted out of my flesh and got angry or tried to bring control into situations that only made things worse. I had my reasons and it was easy to blame others, but what was I afraid of that caused me to react the way I did?
Why is my heart divided?
We all have our specific areas that we find difficult to trust God with.
The one I am going through now involves my hopes and expectations I have as a mother.
I was asked the other day, “What are you afraid of?” My disappointment, anger, and control were clear evidences that I had fear.
So, I wrote down my fears…
As I read them over I thought they were very legitimate fears of any good mother. After all, I am called to train up my children in the way they should go.
Well, the Holy Spirit is much calmer than I am and says things a lot better than I do. He reminded me of these verses…
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
I began to add my fears to the list of things that can’t separate us from the love of God. As I did God gently spoke to me and said that to trust Him with ALL my heart is to believe that He loves my child more than I do, that nothing I fear is stronger than His love, and if I place her into His loving hands, He can do in a moment what I could never do, no matter how much I try.
So, I knew I needed to confess my sin of reacting in fear, trusting in myself, and for the hurt it caused others. I asked Him to forgive me for believing I could figure out what to do and for thinking I knew what was best.
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9
Next, I looked up the word trust – firm belief in the reliability, truth, or strength of someone or something.
In order for me to trust in the Lord with ALL my heart I need to be fully convinced that He is who He says He is, that His word is truth, and that there is nothing He cannot do!
Then God began to show me once again the importance of reading His word…so, this year, 2018, I purpose to choose reading God’s word over other things that seek my attention. I’ve been reminded of the power of my thoughts, and pray that God’s word will give me true thoughts of who He is and give me an undivided heart to trust Him completely, no matter what!
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8
“Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to Your truth; unite my heart to fear (trust) Your name.” Psalm 86:11
So, once God highlighted these verses I knew they were to be my 2018 verses. I believe this year He is going to teach me more about trust and I pray I will have many stories that will tell of His great glory!
P.S. And just to let you all know…God confirmed these verses even this morning…
Mark brought me his read-through-the-year Bible and wanted me to read the Proverb verses for the day. His Mom had always written Proverbs 3:5-6 in his birthday cards, but verses 1-4 caught his attention this morning. They are so fitting with what God has been showing me about the importance of reading His word!
Thank You, God, for Your perfect timing!!
January 10 – Proverbs 3:1-6
“My son, do not forget My teaching, but keep My commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 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.”