The “Other” Promises – God’s Direction
August 27, 2007
Dear Friends,
As we continue a survey of God’s “other” promises, we will take a look at Proverbs 3:
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (vvs. 5,6)
This is another one of those conditional promises. We must trust the Lord will all our heart and not trust in our own chutzpah and then will God direct our paths. This is really, really hard to do. We are trained from childhood to be self-reliant. We are schooled for years and years so that we can lean on our own understanding. As my brother-in-law pointed out to me, too often we compartmentalize our life. We have things that are going right for us. We have them under control, so we take the lead on those. We tell God, metaphorically speaking, “I’ve got this. You don’t need to get involved.” On the other hand, those aspects of our life that are out of control, we are very willing to give those over to God. We pray for God’s help and guidance in those problem areas while assuming control of the others.
Perhaps you have seen the bumper stickers that read “God is my co-pilot.” This is not God directing your paths, but having God along for the ride. This is saying to God that we have the controls but He can take over if something goes wrong or we need a break. The correct attitude is “God is my pilot. I don’t even know how to fly the plane.”
One of the easiest ways we can take hold of this promise of God’s direction in our life is to acknowledge Him. This can be very simple. Before you go into your next activity be it work, exercise, worship or even cooking the evening meal, say “God, I acknowledge You.” By this simple statement, we are saying that we know that God is our pilot and that He is in control. In this small way, each activity of our day can become an act of worship.
Another simple way to acknowledge Him is to thank Him. I went to Walmart last night to by some running shorts. It was a modest purchase of only a few dollars. As I was leaving, I said a short prayer acknowledging this simple purchase. It went something like “thank you God for allowing me to buy some running shorts. I know that it might not seem like much, but I know that many people can’t make such a purchase. Thank you for blessing me to be able to do so. Thank you for giving me the money, the car to come to the store, the legs to take me in the store. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” The thing is, that if we are to acknowledge Him in all our ways, little things like this have to be included. We can’t reserve our thanks and praise for only the so-called “big things.” It has to include all things.
Now imagine a ridiculous situation. You are about to steal something. You say “Lord, thank you for the shirt I am about to steal. Thank you for the hands that allow me to steal and the feet that allow me to run if someone is chasing me.” It is easy to see that if we acknowledge God is ALL of our ways, it automatically directs our paths. By acknowledging God, our conscience is pricked and hopefully we won’t do whatever wrong thing we are about to do.
The payoff comes when God directs our paths. We need to recognize that this isn’t a promise that all things will be easy. It just says that God will direct our paths. We will get the trials we need to make us stronger. We will get the blessings we need to make us content. God will direct us toward His kingdom. What more could we ask for than that?
It takes a willing heart to be guided by God. We can’t pick and chose which parts of our life that God will be involved in. If we pick and chose, we don’t get the benefit of the promise.
Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.(Ps. 5:8)
Have a great week,
