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.
I was reminded of the story this week of a man 1920’s who was trying to cross a frozen river on a cold winter day. Since the man didn’t know how thick the ice was he was gingerly crawling across the ice on his hands and knees. Right when he reached the middle of the River – he heard some clatter coming up behind him. He looked back, and saw a wagon pulled by four horses, and the driver was running them along at a pretty good clip right across the frozen river. The guy driving the wagon was a local. He knew how thick the ice was. He was barreling across the ice with confidence knowing that it was going to hold.
Too many Christians are like the man down on all fours, creeping along, way too cautious. God wants our trust in him to be – as confident as the man driving that team of horses – Knowing the ice is going to hold. Been said – that your faith is only as strong as the object of YOUR faith. The object of our faith is the almighty God – maker of the Universe – spoke – word of his power. Sustainer of the Universe – word of his power.
The Redeemer of mankind – saw us in our rebellion – despair. Didn’t ignore our plight and condition but loved us enough to step in – intervene on our behalf. Living in a crazy world – more crazy by the minute – but our God is on the throne – NOT SAVED ?
Today I want to look at this passage that you are all very familiar with – hopefully see it in a new light. Begin with the admonition to Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Trust is the Hebrew word here Bau/tack – The word translated “trust” in verse 5 means “to lie helpless, facedown.” A posture of being totally surrendered and Vulnerable and dependent upon God. As I read this I was reminded of a few times when I have been out with friends on their boat at a Lake.
They have one of those inner tube things you lay face down – pulled behind the boat. That right there is a picture of trust. You are trusting the guy driving the boat that he is not going to be too crazy right? I had friends who were proven to be untrustworthy –
Lets see how far we can launch Rob
Hanging on for dear life – quick turn – flying
Or worse yet wake launched – laughing – high 5’s
My “friends “were proven to be untrustworthy!
The Lord never does that – let’s have some fun with Rob today. Lets see how uncomfortable we can make Rob – Angels -high fiving in heaven – laughing. Not the heart of our father/ – NOW he will allow us to go through difficulty to grow us – trials produce…. patience and Christ like character. Now The face down posture is a posture of humility, God resist the proud…. Grace to the Humble
Broken and contrite heart – CSB a broken and humble heart – not despise – Turns toward and not away from. To trust in the Lord is to lay face down yielded to God – believing – he has a plan – Believing that God knows what he is doing. That is the posture of faith. Fully committed to trust him – But it continues.
With all your heart – not a partial trust – ALL IN
Picture a little boy standing on the side of pool – looking nervous – My grand kids. That little boy doesn’t understand all the dynamics of distance and gravity. All he knows is his dad is standing in the pool saying trust me – jump – I will catch you. The first time he is cautious – But pretty soon – he is running and jumping – big smile – FUN. Dad is moving farther and farther back – the little boys faith is growing with every jump. Pure Joy – He jumps because he trust his dad. The Posture of faith says – Lord I will jump – I will take that step of faith – I will let go of …
My fear & need control – because I trust you. Why do we trust him? Good good father – He choose to give his beloved son…. – in order to bring us into his family – make us his Children. Paul would ask the question in Romans 8 – If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
And Jesus in Luke 12 talking to his disciples about their provision – It is your father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. 1 Peter 5:8 Cast all your cares upon him – why? He cares so deeply for you. Casting is demonstrative active – here God – it is yours. When you give it to him you leave it with him! Don’t pick up that back pack of burdens.
NEXT Trust in the Lord with all of your heart – and lean not on your own understanding – God is saying – trust me – even when you don’t know what I am doing? Trust me even when I don’t give you the whole plan – can’t see from A to Z – Trust that I have your best interest at heart. God is saying – trust me and enjoy the journey – trust me for the right outcome. Example of Trust where you are NOT leaning to your own understanding – Elective Surgery. I have had 3 hip surgeries – and 2 hip replacements. Right hip in Nov 2019 / left hip – September 2021.
Interesting elective surgery – they always make you sign that waver – this rarely ever happens but you could die. Are you ok with that ? I guess? Define rarely ? Leading up to my last surgery my wife and I had been watching two Hospital shows – crazy surgeries – Denise would say – babe that is what they are going to be doing to you. Look at how hard they are hitting that Hammer – look at the size of that drill. On a couple of these shows – people died from a complication from a minor surgery – Clip an artery or something – I have literally thought –Maybe I shouldn’t be watching this right now.
Maybe we should watch a hallmark Show.
Everyone is always happy – no one dies – Always a happy ending – But think about THAT Surgery – SAYING – Doc I am lying down trusting you with all of my heart. Now Some people want to watch the surgery they are going to have – You tube – Understand. I don’t get that personally –I don’t need to know all the details – put me to sleep I simply am trusting Doc that when I wake up fixed. Everything is going to be good! – All better. Trusting God and the Doctor with all of my heart.
I VETED MY DOC – how many of these have you done – 1,000’s – how many gone wrong ?- die ?
No one – Ok Great. Now if he said: This is my first one – so excited – sorry new Doc. I realize someone has to be your first time but it is not going to be me. I want a Doctor with a Proven track record. Our God has a proven track record. So we can trust in him with all of our hearts.
Even when don’t understand what is happening or what HE IS DOING. We can trust – and Rest in his Care – His Love – His Ability. Believing He has our best interest at heart. Because – He has a Proven track record – Several years ago – I was invited to go and speak at a Conference in what was then Yugo. Country was in the midst of Civil war – Embassy closed – Americans were told to leave – the country. Some questioned – why would you even consider going in – My leadership prayed – wife prayed My wife has always been very supportive of my ministry trips. But at the same time hates it when we are away from one another. Something always goes wrong – Russia. Here we are talking about going into a War-torn country. She Said I think you are supposed to go. – thought – maybe she doesn’t want me to come back. Well I went – Trusting God – It was one of the best trips ever – tons of miracles. Church planted in the city where the conference was held – Amazing. Now I have had plenty of times in my life – where I didn’t trust the Lord. Worried and fretted all the way through something – Lousy way to live – Exhausting – it is frustrating. Opposite of an adventure with Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 – 6 Don’t worry about anything, That is the hardest command to keep in the Bible.
Not the one that says, don’t murder, don’t cheat, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal. No, no, no. The hardest command in the Bible is that one right there. Don’t worry about anything. We break that so often – some of us every day. But Worry is assuming responsibility God never meant for you to have. And worry is the opposite of Trust. So God says, “Don’t worry about anything instead, pray about everything.” See He gives us an alternative. He says you can pray or you can panic. That’s your alternative.
Pray or panic.
You can worship or you can worry. You can have faith or you can have fear. It’s your choice. But God’s not going to force you to pray, to worship, to have faith. But here is his promise when You Pray instead of panic worship instead of worry – faith… fear.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
We Crave – peace that comes from Understanding. Ok – I see what is happening – ok – we got the diagnosis – Game plan. But God says- I want to give you a peace that surpasses all understanding. My Peace is going to set a guard over your heart. But that only happens as we trust in the Lord with all of our hearts – and lean not on our own understanding. When we pray instead of panic – worship instead of worry – have faith instead of fear.
ON GOING EXERCISE: pray in the morning – peace – Panicking again by noon – PRAY AGAIN
Do it again later in the afternoon. So the Posture of Faith is trust in the Lord with all of our heart – and lean not on our own understanding- then he adds this. In all your ways acknowledge him. Now this is the part of this proverb that I think is often the most misunderstood. When we think of the word – Acknowledge – we think of letting someone know our plans – sort FYI
Hey Lord – FYI – I am planning this business venture will you bless it
Lord FYI – I am going to ask ___ to marry me – can you help her say yes.
Lord FYI we planning this ministry trip or venture, would you go before us.
That is often the way we approach this idea of in all your ways Acknowledge him. But that is not what this word means – the word Acknowledge is the word Yada – Ya/daeh. The Word means to Know – to perceive, to see, to find out and discern. Translation -In all your ways seek to know, to perceive, to see, to find out and discern the Lord’s heart on that matter. That sheds a whole new light on this verse. I am not simply filling the Lord in on my plans. I am to seek to know his heart on the situation. So I am going to search the scriptures and see where Jesus dealt with a situation like this. I don’t want to lean on my own understanding – So I need to quiet my heart from all the noise around me – hear your still small voice.
Remember Elijah- fled – God wasn’t in the noise – the earthquake, the wind, the fire – Still small voice – How many of us get distracted by the earthquakes. Those events that shake up our worlds. Wind – that is unsettling at times – blows things. Fire where the heat is turned up. Imagine how our lives would change if we really did this. – ACKNOWLEDGE.
Lord I want to know your heart concerning this situation I find myself in. Lord I want to know your heart concerning how I use my money and resources. Lord I want to know your heart and will as it relates to how I use my time. Lord concerning this situation w/ my family– I am not going to lean on my own understanding. I am not going to respond to my emotions. I want to know your heart – have your mind. You find yourself in a conflict – with someone – Lord I want to know your heart/ will…….
When I consider what is going on in culture – I want to know your heart. I want to Discern your mind on this Lord. I don’t want to go with the popular opinion of others – I want to search the word – Discern your heart – you will – That is what it means to acknowledge him in all your ways. It is understanding that you have been saved to live in a relationship with the living God. That relationship with God is supposed to permeate and affect every aspect of your life. It is going to affect how you think about things – it is going to affect how you relate to people, what your priorities are going to be. That is what it means to Acknowledge him in all your ways.
This is really the Mark of a Disciple:
Go into the World and Make Disciples of all nations – NOTE – not believers – but Disciples. Greg Laurie has said: “Every disciple is a believer, but not every believer is necessarily a disciple. Anything short of discipleship, however, is settling for less than what God really desires for us. The Disciple is one who says – Lord I want to follow you completely in all things. Caleb -85 give me this MT – I am as strong today as I was when I was 40. Testimony of his Life -told this of him 6X in the Bible – Caleb wholly followed the Lord. So The Posture of faith: Trust in the Lord….heart and Lean not….
In all your ways seek to Know Him – His heart – His mind – His will – His way. Here is the Promise – He will direct your paths – He will make your paths straight- CSB. One scholar put it this way “God will clear obstructions and enable you to go forward.” Make paths straight is translated in the Septuagint with (in present tense = continually) which literally describes cutting a straight road through difficult terrain to make a straight path. I love that picture: Because it is not just one path it is continual paths – Lord which way do I go in this situation? – Lord what is your heart for this decision?
Seek him in prayer and the Word – being willing to wait – He promises – I will cut a path. I will make your path Straight. – Direct you. Call to Baseball – Dad – Will not be happy until doing what God called you to do? What situation do you find yourself in today?
ARE YOU IN A STORM? – Tough situation CAST …… lay it down today – Prayer – Quit carrying it – trust the Lord. Is there an area in your life – been trying to control – getting you know where. Let go of your need to control – to understand – Humble yourself today – trust him – MAYBE YOU ARE A BELIEVER – Believed – but you are not a Disciple. Respond to his call today – to Trust him with all your heart – – Become a Disciple. He is faithful he is trustworthy – you will not be disappointed.
To the Non Believer Trust him for your Salvation – Prodigal here today – Will you come home today. Can’t be NEUTRAL – FOR ME OR AGAINST ME. TURN TO HIM – TRUST IN HIM. Promises – Forgiveness sin – guilt – freedom from shame – ETERNAL LIFE. Jesus description of Eternal life – John 17:3
3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
