Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV)
When confronted with a problem, many people sit down and try to figure out how to fix it. If you call a friend for advice, they will try to fix it for you. At what point do you turn it over to God? It’s been said that there is not a problem that the Bible does not have an answer for. Do you believe that? God will allow trials to come our way so we can strengthen our faith, learn perseverance, and deepen our prayer lives. (James 1:2-7).
God gives us a promise in Proverbs 3:5-6 that He will direct our path. However, there are conditions that we have to meet in order to receive the promise.
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart. The word “trust” means to lay helpless, facedown, like a servant waiting to obey his master’s command.
• Lean not on your own understanding. Human insight is never to replace the need for full trust in God’s superior ways. Do not be wise in your own eyes.
• In all your ways acknowledge Him. In the easy and the hard situations we must know God well enough to know that He is in control. Everything comes from Him, through Him, and we can trust Him. We acknowledge that He is the One whom we can lean on.
The Bible also tells us in Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
God will direct our paths by guiding us, removing obstacles, and bringing us to the appointed goal. God directs us through the Bible, prayer, and sometimes through other people. When we seek counsel from others we need to make sure that it does not contradict what God has told us in His Word. God never changes and will not tell you to do something He has stated not to do in His Word.
The next time you have a problem, who are you going to call? Don’t reach for the phone, reach for God in prayer and in His written Word. It is His desire.