"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all you ways acknowledge Him
and He will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh,
and refreshment to your bones"
-Proverbs 3:5-8
I know, I know....you've read/heard these verses before, maybe they are even your favorite, or you quoted em like they were.
One of the rants building up inside me- How come we, as Christ followers, are so quick to spew scripture or scripture-esk sayings at anyone who asks for 'an answer'? Yet we use it in such a way as to completely disassociate them and disengage ourselves from any deeper or challenging conversation? Christ followers need to be well...more like Christ...'ready to give an answer' that engages those who live desperate lives away from God, for a whole pile of reasons, in such a way that causes them to lean in to know more.
BUT right now that is not the topic of this post/rant. I know I have heard the above verses more then a hundred times quoted as life verses or as a terse reminder of how to 'get over' what ever problem I might be having with knowing the will of God in any given situation. This time however, as we thought about on Sunday Night- at PAXnorth in the Park (yeah that's right, we decided to have PAXworship at a Park right in the midst of our most 'dangerous' neighbourhood- I guess I'll have to post on that experience as well this week.) These verses are not meant for quick repeat without first some deep reflection/meditation of what you are really asking people to consider.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart" : This is a theme that weaves it's way from Adam-to Noah-to Abraham- to Moses- to David- to Solomon- to Isaiah- to Christ- to Paul- to the Church and anyone who has claimed to be a follower of Jehovah, God in between. Love=Trust. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength" This kind of love is a total vulnerable, opening of heart and life kind of trust. The kind of Love that God demonstrated in sending His Son to this earth- God coming down to make himself vulnerable to man, being tested in every way, yet without sin, taking on our abuse, our sin, our punishment of offense on the cross. We can love/trust Him completely because He first loved us.
The only other option to trusting in God is trusting in self; "Lean not on your own understanding" That is a limited option at best- it means living out of only what you have perceived of yourself. Maybe a perception that you have carried over from a hurtful past or the lies of others, or out of what you think everyone would like you to be. One of the major problems with leaning on our own understanding has got to be the flux factor. Opinions of who I am, or am supposed to be, or what I wish I could be changes from year to year, season to season, setting to setting, and person to person- and that's only looking at it from the inside out. Imagine what that would mean if I really tried to live up to everybody else's 'understanding'?
"In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." This is bigger then you can really grab hold of in a quick read. In ALL YOUR WAYS acknowledge Him... We have challenged PAXnorth to engage in this verse deeper then merely quoting, knowing and throwing it out as a way to cope with the latest unforeseen event in our lives.
I heard of a church who came up with a great idea to practice the "in all your ways" part of acknowledging God in their everyday life. They set up a 60.60 Experiment.
Every 60 minutes for 60 days take time to stop and reflect on the fact that God is here. We are in his presence, He is engaged in our lives.
This is a huge challenge. How will 'practicing the presence of God' cause the daily intentions and decisions of my heart and life to be changed?- TRY IT! Then tell us at PAXnorth60.60 Experiment.
Just a word of caution: If you truly engage in this 'acknowledging of God in all your ways' - it will begin to give you strength from the inside out and heal many of the scars, wounds broken down walls in your life that perhaps you have held on to for years. RE-read the last few verses of the above passage.
Eagerly waiting to see what happens when we actually put into life these powerful verses? Me to!
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