That’s the way of it. Not possible for us to know just what the other fellow sees or thinks or feels. We all travel this trail pretty much alone. Makes no difference how many million people have gone ahead of us, it’s a new road to you and a new road to me.”
–Ernest Haycox (Saddle and Ride)
“Everyone depends on you, and when the time is right, you provide them with food.”
–Psalm 145:15 (CEV)
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3.5 — Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
.6 — In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)
When I was a teenager, I purchased my first study Bible and my pastor, G.R. Kelly wrote this verse in the back of my Bible. This is one of the most familiar passages of Scripture; invariably it is probably one of yours or of someone you know. We need to take some time to look more deeply at what is being said. Keep in mind as we study the term, “all.” In your mind understand what that really means. Charles Bridges says that these two verses are “the polar star of a child of God–faith in His Father’s providence, promises, and grace.”
It is emphatic that we are to trust “the Sovereign Lord with every fiber of our being, putting the full weight of our cares, worries, and problems on Him.” (Beasley) We are to trust solely and completely in God Almighty and His Word. Trust is entire and exclusive. It is complete. Mike Leake says that “trust isn’t a half-hearted endeavor.” It is indeed then a whole-hearted work. Charles Bridges declares that, “Since He is truth itself; we should take Him at His Word, any limit to the confidence is a heinous provocation.” Trust–true, deep-seated trust. To trust Him means knowing Him and His will. It means total commitment. As Jesus said, we must pick up our yoke and follow Him. Warren Wiersbe points out that “This is a promise, but the fulfillment of that promise is predicated on our obedience to the Lord.”
Therefore to trust Him, means that we must know Him. Acknowledging could better be translated “knowing”; we must come to know God if we are to trust Him. People say they want a relationship with God, but they don’t take the time to get to know Him. To really know God we must prayerfully and consistently study and ingest His Word. “The more we truly know Him, the more we will trust in Him, and the less in ourselves and others.” (Beasley) Knowing Him, according to Dan Dick, means “to learn to accept a God who is greater and more powerful than the limits of our minds can grasp, we will begin to experience God more fully.”
Relationship, intimacy with God–J.L. Flores writes, “The trust of a Christian will be in proportion to his love to his Lord. The more intimate the knowledge, the deeper will be the love; the deeper the love, the more entire the trust.” Trusting and knowing God then go hand-in-hand. When we do that we are on our way to having our pathway directed. Leake says, “Trusting in the Lord with all your heart is fundamentally a Christ-centered quest.”
Knowing Him takes time. Knowing Him isn’t a sometimes thing, but it is moment-by-moment throughout the day. Do we thank God for the gloomy days as well as the bright days? If not, do we really know Him? Do we really trust Him? Having our paths directed is for the person who diligently studies the Word of God; the person who seeks consciously to do the will of God. “Faith is not without reason, but it is always beyond reason.” (Dick) We must understand who we are serving, yet at the same time know that we cannot fully understand Him. Trusting is a conscious dependence on God, then He will direct our paths. When we lean upon our own understanding we can easily miss God’s will. In trusting Him there must be the submission of our wills to His. (Flores)
Remember, the person who trusts in his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26), yet why then do we do so? Why do we insist on going our own way? To have that personal relationship we must place aside our will. Tozer wrote, “Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse.”
So do you know God and trust Him? If not, do not expect that He will direct your path. We must acknowledge Him, know Him, in all our ways, the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet, the sour and the luscious things that are provided. That great man of God, Charles Bridges sums it this way, “It is therefore our plain duty not to neglect our understanding, but to cultivate it diligently in all its faculties. In a world of such extended knowledge, ignorance is the fruit of sloth, dissipations, or misguided delusion.” Friend, get to know God and then be confident that He will direct your path. It is part of that process of growing; it is part of that process of living. Don’t miss the working of God in your everyday life.
“Everyone depends on you, and when the time is right, you provide them with food.”
–Psalm 145:15 (CEV)
——————————-
3.5 — Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
.6 — In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)
When I was a teenager, I purchased my first study Bible and my pastor, G.R. Kelly wrote this verse in the back of my Bible. This is one of the most familiar passages of Scripture; invariably it is probably one of yours or of someone you know. We need to take some time to look more deeply at what is being said. Keep in mind as we study the term, “all.” In your mind understand what that really means. Charles Bridges says that these two verses are “the polar star of a child of God–faith in His Father’s providence, promises, and grace.”
It is emphatic that we are to trust “the Sovereign Lord with every fiber of our being, putting the full weight of our cares, worries, and problems on Him.” (Beasley) We are to trust solely and completely in God Almighty and His Word. Trust is entire and exclusive. It is complete. Mike Leake says that “trust isn’t a half-hearted endeavor.” It is indeed then a whole-hearted work. Charles Bridges declares that, “Since He is truth itself; we should take Him at His Word, any limit to the confidence is a heinous provocation.” Trust–true, deep-seated trust. To trust Him means knowing Him and His will. It means total commitment. As Jesus said, we must pick up our yoke and follow Him. Warren Wiersbe points out that “This is a promise, but the fulfillment of that promise is predicated on our obedience to the Lord.”
Therefore to trust Him, means that we must know Him. Acknowledging could better be translated “knowing”; we must come to know God if we are to trust Him. People say they want a relationship with God, but they don’t take the time to get to know Him. To really know God we must prayerfully and consistently study and ingest His Word. “The more we truly know Him, the more we will trust in Him, and the less in ourselves and others.” (Beasley) Knowing Him, according to Dan Dick, means “to learn to accept a God who is greater and more powerful than the limits of our minds can grasp, we will begin to experience God more fully.”
Relationship, intimacy with God–J.L. Flores writes, “The trust of a Christian will be in proportion to his love to his Lord. The more intimate the knowledge, the deeper will be the love; the deeper the love, the more entire the trust.” Trusting and knowing God then go hand-in-hand. When we do that we are on our way to having our pathway directed. Leake says, “Trusting in the Lord with all your heart is fundamentally a Christ-centered quest.”
Knowing Him takes time. Knowing Him isn’t a sometimes thing, but it is moment-by-moment throughout the day. Do we thank God for the gloomy days as well as the bright days? If not, do we really know Him? Do we really trust Him? Having our paths directed is for the person who diligently studies the Word of God; the person who seeks consciously to do the will of God. “Faith is not without reason, but it is always beyond reason.” (Dick) We must understand who we are serving, yet at the same time know that we cannot fully understand Him. Trusting is a conscious dependence on God, then He will direct our paths. When we lean upon our own understanding we can easily miss God’s will. In trusting Him there must be the submission of our wills to His. (Flores)
Remember, the person who trusts in his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26), yet why then do we do so? Why do we insist on going our own way? To have that personal relationship we must place aside our will. Tozer wrote, “Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse.”
So do you know God and trust Him? If not, do not expect that He will direct your path. We must acknowledge Him, know Him, in all our ways, the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet, the sour and the luscious things that are provided. That great man of God, Charles Bridges sums it this way, “It is therefore our plain duty not to neglect our understanding, but to cultivate it diligently in all its faculties. In a world of such extended knowledge, ignorance is the fruit of sloth, dissipations, or misguided delusion.” Friend, get to know God and then be confident that He will direct your path. It is part of that process of growing; it is part of that process of living. Don’t miss the working of God in your everyday life.