He knew it would take some time and considerable experience before his confidence would become competence.”
–B.N. Rundell (Journey to Jeopardy)
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.”
–Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV)
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We turn our attention again this morning to Proverbs 3:21-26. Our attention, our focus, our minds must continually be on the Word of God. I like the words of J. Vernon McGee, “How wonderful it is to discover that the truth of God will hold us–it is not that you and I hold the truth, but the truth will hold us.” No matter what life throws at us, no matter the darts the devil hurls our way, we can be confident that we are in God’s hands and we live in confidence and assurance of His truth. F.B. Meyer wrote, “Learn the security of life which is built on the eternal principles of this book.” The Word of God–the Bible–shows us the way to live and gives us the hope of His keeping power. God is there, with us, never fear or dread the walk the path of faith. Life can be a burden, especially without the Lord. However, “Life is less of a burden when we realize that God will be there.” (Dan Dick)
When we walk in the way that the Lord has for us we can be assured that He is there with us. In fact, we have the assurance that He is also walking in front of us. His Word lights our path, and His wisdom takes away our blindness. We can see the way to go, the obstacles on the path, the problems that may come our way and then meet them in confidence. Bob Beasley says, “Our confidence in God’s providence should take away our sleepless nights of worry anxiety because during waking hours we are confident of His tender care.” Michael Jermin gives us some light on this assurance, “Surely the way to sleep quietly in this world is to be asleep to the world.” I recall the following story of Peter:
And when Herod was about to bring him [Peter] out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!”
–Acts 12:6-7 (NKJV)
Look at this. Peter is sound asleep. Perhaps he remembered how Jesus slept in the boat when the storm was raging on the Sea of Galilee. He may have learned that lesson well. He was sleeping so soundly that the angel had to strike him on the side. “Get up!”
Verse 25 tells us not to be afraid of any sudden disaster or terror that may arise. In other words, don’t be afraid of the next minute. God is there. God is there to see us through any and all crises. I can remember several times when sudden disaster was averted by the Lord. He, whether by angels or His outstretched arm, kept us many times when there seemed to be no way out. F.B. Meyer wrote, “Life has no fear. Its repose is unbroken by alarm. It is at peace with itself, with man, and with God.”
A ship, when it enters a harbor, must have a pilot to guide it. The captain of the vessel does not know all the dangers that lie in the harbor. A pilot must take over the ship to steer it through the channel. Along with that, there are the additional tugboats to make sure the large vessel does not vary its course. It is not “full speed ahead” but a slow maneuvering through the channel. When we find ourselves along the way and it seems that we can no longer trust ourselves to guide us through, we have the confidence of the great Pilot standing at the helm, taking over in our lack of knowledge, and we trust Him to guide us through. We have the general knowledge of navigating the ship, but we need the wisdom of the Spirit, the Pilot, to guide us through the narrow channel to safely dock.
Friend in all of this, have confidence and hope in the Lord. Listen! None of our actions go unnoticed by God. He is there to see us through to safety. On this way that we travel there are all kinds of snares and traps laid by the enemy, there are the forces of nature to tend, and yet, we can go through life with the assurance and peace that God is there–always there–to guide us. Therefore, I say again–Trust Him!