Friends, I’m finding that the older I get, the more I appreciate direct, honest, constructive, practical wisdom from loved ones and God Himself. I’m drawn in by the straightforwardness of these two verses and the entire chapter of Proverbs 3, how they aren’t sugar-coated.
Scripture tells us plainly here that, if we want to know God’s will for our lives, we first need to place our trust and faith in the LORD, not in our own feelings or perception or ability. Those wax and wane, changing with life’s ups and downs, but God is constant and unchanging, infinitely powerful and mighty, able to do far more than we could ever hope or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
His will is in His Word. If we truly want to know God’s will for us, collectively and individually, we need to be in His Word and in communication with Him through prayer regularly.
In everything we do, we need to acknowledge Him, to allow Him in, to ask Him to be at the center of ALL aspects of our lives, not just the big things but also the routine and seemingly little or unexciting things. Even doing the dishes can be an act of worship when we work unto God (Colossians 3:23).
When we trust and acknowledge Him, He is faithful to direct our steps and path in accordance with His will. So often, I fall into the trap of trying to direct my own path and make my own plans without consulting the Lord first, as I suspect all of us have struggled with this at some point. We are each sinners, after all, and we may move forward thinking that it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission, but for believers the opposite should be the norm.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33 NASB
When we trust in the Lord first and in all things give honor to Him, He will lead us via
- His Word,
- prayer,
- the circumstances in which we find ourselves,
- others’ godly counsel,
- the Holy Spirit’s stirring our hearts and reminding us of His promises (Hebrews 10:23).
When God is our true North, our guiding Light, our one true Lord, He illuminates the path ahead of us and clears the way. All that then remains is for us to put one foot in front of the other and go in faith.
We have to make a choice, and it comes down to this:
What is more important to us—God and His will OR ourselves and our own will?
The prior will lead us on the path of righteousness and the latter to ruin—hard but necessary truths when we find ourselves at a crossroad … and all of life is a crossroad.
Make no mistake that God is already the ultimate victor and has defeated death and Satan himself. God will always accomplish His will, with or without us, but He’s invited us to participate in His will and be on His winning team! We have only to accept His invitation. He even does the fighting for us, friends (Exodus 14:14, Luke 4:10, Romans 8:31)!
I’d say that’s an offer we can’t refuse, but we refuse it anyway when we allow ourselves to become our own lords, when we forget Him in the busyness and chaos, when we put our own hearts and thoughts and desires ahead of His … when we trust ourselves more than we trust Him.
If life has taught me anything, it’s that I am so very flawed and fickle, incapable of holiness and desperately in need of Jesus 24/7 … but WITH Him, I am being refined, made holy, redeemed and forgiven. I am able because HE is able. I am more than a conqueror because He already is! And you are too!
He is life and breath, perfection and love itself, and He is the only One worthy to be called my Lord, my God, my Abba Father, my Savior, my Refuge and Strength in times of trouble.
He has never failed me—not once, but I fail myself and Him many times over … every day … because of my own stubbornness and willfulness and decision making that doesn’t seek Him first.
Yet He never leaves me, He never gives up on me, He always gives me a way out and back to Him when I decide to look UP from my own mess and seek Him! And He does the same for you.
Dear friend, are you ready to accept Jesus’s invitation to do life with Him as your Lord and Savior if you haven’t already?
You will never regret it. Once you let Him lead the way, you may think, “What in the world are you doing, God?” and may always have questions, but you also can always trust Him, despite the questions and any uncertainties. And that is freeing!
So, let’s trust in the Lord today … He is sovereign.
Let’s acknowledge and honor Him with our choices … He is worthy.
And, having done that, we can have confidence that He is faithful to direct us further and further up the path of righteousness (Psalm 23:3) when we step out in faith and go where He leads.
Lord Jesus, thank you for going with us, for leading us along paths of righteousness for your glory. Turn our eyes and hearts to you in all that we do and say today. We want YOU, not ourselves, to be Lord of our lives. We invite you into all of it and give you all of us. We trust in you, our perfect Savior, with all our heart because we know our own understanding is incomplete and fallible. Thank you for showing us the way forward and guiding our every step! We want to be obedient and say, “Here am I. Send me.” We love you and trust you and pray all these things in your name. Amen.
Feature photo by Allen Taylor on Unsplash
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