Sunday, March 11, 2007

Greater Trust, Straighter Paths

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)

It seems I show up at these verses after I have tried to use all my own understanding and it hasn't worked out to well.

My paths are pretty curvy. And the funny thing is that, until just recently, I would have characterized myself as being someone who was pretty willing to acknowledge Him. It turns out that was a lie I was telling myself to often.

Lip service to God is not acknowledgement. Worship that brings you sincerely bowed down low is acknowledgement. Obedience from a heart of love is acknowledgement. Walking by faith and not by sight is acknowledgement.

I don't want to live in the lie of trusting myself and claiming that I am trusting God. God has so much work to do inside me on that one. But I've tasted that these words in Proverbs are true and so I look forward to the Lord continuing to work in my heart. To create in me a heart of faith, worship and obedience.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for being so patient with us. Thank you for convicting us not just when we're lying to to other people but also when we're lying to ourselves. Lord teach us what the words, "Trust in the Lord will all your heart" really mean. What would the world look like if a bunch of us really trusted you that way?

Forgive us for thinking we know so much. Its funny that we pick on teenagers for having that attitude and often can't see it in ourselves. We are so grateful for your correcting and life giving mercy in our lives. Give us hearts that truly love you and want to walk in obedience to you. May we live lives with straighter paths so we can have the opportunity to tell people about the Straight Path Giver.

Amen

3 comments:

Robyn Rochelle E. said...

AMEN!!!!

Dave said...

Wow, and Amen! Lip service is our cover for what we afraid to expose, ourselves. You should read A.W. Tozer "Knowledge of the Holy".

Quote from chapter 1:

http://glorifyhisname.com/sys-tmpl/koh1/

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God.
Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ”What comes into your mind when you think about God?” we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow.

Cheri said...

Hi David,

"Knowledge of the Holy" is on my list. I think your the third person that has suggested it to me. I look forward to reading it.

Cheri