"Path-Finder"

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)  

Doubt can leave a man wanting and leave him with great regret, “if only” and “what if” the equivalent of any unwanted plague. Even the world has derived a saying that confirms this, “he who hesitates is lost”! Trust on the other hand is the frontrunner, when applied correctly. Humility must be the leader of our lives and it most certainly needs to be coupled with trust. Therefore we must learn to rely (trust) on the Lord our God with all our hearts, but notice that the mind is included under the banner of the heart; “and do not lean on your own understanding”. Note – “In all our ways acknowledge Him”, which if written differently as I understand it means, commit to our God with our hearts, our inner beings and do not give your minds a pass. How do we give our minds a pass? Read on! Our entire beings must be devoted to God and only then will the promise of this verse be realized. Which is, “and he will make straight your paths.” This is an assumption that I can equivocally make without any fear of erring on the side of error. I have notice that not many commit to this verse correctly. It is easy to say we will trust our God, if so why then do we always let our minds dictate to any difficult dilemma. When we are tried we often refer to our own resourcefulness to rectify whatever is required. We are not lead by the Spirit of God in these instances but it is obvious that we rely on our independence. We say one thing but it is obvious we are committed to self and not to God. Fill in the blanks, examine if what I say has any bearing on the decisions you make throughout the day. Faith demands all of our commitment and not only selected compartments of our lives and it must be founded on the pillar of humility. When the chips are down this is when we are truly tested. Gauging faith with accuracy comes from the trials of life and not from cozy comforts.      

Here are some examples to prove my point…

Let us look at twelve men that turned the world on it hinges, the twelve apostles and what constituted their commitment to the Christian faith as we know it today. Obviously without the work of Gods Spirit this would have resulted in disaster, but if and when God speaks and we find obedience to His voice, Wow! The world will become our oyster and the possibilities to glorify God through our endeavours will become endless. Let us pay careful attention to their lives and learn from them.

It is not a difficult point to establish when thought through with intent; historically the scripture verifies this point over and over again. There are multitudes of examples throughout the covers of the Bible for us to understand the call for the Christian. And the more effective we look to be, the easier the application. Trust in our God with humble intent must become our focus and tackling one day at a time; trying to handle too much at once will smother us. Pay attention; "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) - There must be less dependency upon ourselves with a greater commitment to our reliance upon God’s provision if we are to learn what it means to walk by faith; this solicitation must be driven by faith for it to become effective. Doubt on the other hand is the greatest of all enemies.

When God rescued the Jews from slavery out of the land of Egypt what was their greatest downfall? They grumbled! Unbelief prohibited them from entering the Promised Land. God had committed Himself to a people and proved His allegiance to them with many mighty signs and wonders, He evidenced that He was a God of His Word! It is not as if God needs to prove anything, HE IS GOD and He answers to no one! But understanding our weakness, the feebleness of our flesh and because of His love, “God is Love”! He proved His commitment though many spectacular miracles. And yet at the core of their hearts they remained uninfluenced. True faith is far more effective than any sign, this is a lesson we all need to learn. My prayer is that my God would teach me to trust Him above anything else in my life and I am thankful that He is in the throes of this lesson. I am persuaded that through it all His promise will become my reality, which is to make straight that which is crooked in my life, Hallelujah and Amen!

I realize that I am a work in progress and that there is still much needed for me to become effective with God’s call upon my life. As I examine the weakness that continues to plague me with doubt looking for any opportune moment to rear its head but then I am reminded that it is the work of the Spirit who has it in His power to achieve whatever He chooses. Here is a verse that helps me align my thinking and I am able to draw great comfort from it as it washes the qualm away. “If God is for us who can come against us; “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39) 

This must become our daily mindset for us to reach our end game, heaven and all its glory where Jesus Christ shall lead us as Supreme King and God will be our Father and we shall be his sons, Wow! I want that more than life itself, do you? There is a price to pay, a relinquishing of self - whilst trusting in our God.

Here is a typical effective response that will be fruitful…

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-20) – I do not see any if’s and but’s and the reason for this is there weren’t any! Do you understand the author’s intent? Doubt is nowhere to be seen in this verse. Please note these where simple fishermen, Christ did not go to Herod’s Court to select accomplished candidates to follow him. The world teaches us that only the mighty and the noble will conquer but that is not how God has chosen to glorify His name through varying individuals; “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;” (1Corinthians 1:26-37) – The reason for this is a simple one, less of self and more of Gods abundant grace revealing itself in and through the common man.        

Here is an example that did not pan out favourably; “And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."” (Luke 18:18-25) -There is a false message that is preached from many a pulpit and it revolves around wealth, it is demonic and we must repel it with all we have. The more we gather in the world the greater the temptation will be to hold onto it. The instruction to Christians is clear and simple; “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1Timonthy 6:8-9)

It is the raging storms and the tempestuous winds of life which we experience that proves God’s benediction to us, but take comfort from this verse; “After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1Peter 5:10)

   

Blessing to all who confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone