Promising Words

ME: Crutches/Cane/Walking stick

Anyone here ever had to use crutches?

What about a cane?

Or perhaps on a long hike you used a walking stick along your trip.

I have been on crutches on two different occasions in my life.

The first time I was in 9th grade,

I broke my foot playing kickball in gym class at the start of the day.

I walked around on it for the entire day wondering why my foot hurt so bad.

The second time happened when Stephanie and I were living in North Carolina.

I was playing basketball with a group of students from the seminary,

I landed on someone else’s foot and my ankle hit the ground before my foot did.

It ended up being a high ankle sprain,

That surprisingly hurt far worse than the broken foot.

So, I have some experience leaning on crutches.

And anyone else who has used crutches, canes, or walking sticks know the experience of leaning on these things.

Even with really good padding,

Leaning on crutches can be very uncomfortable.

Now, who would be willing to lean on a broken crutch?

Or a splintered cane?

Not only would this be painful,

But it would be ineffective.

Well our passage this morning asks a similar question.

We are back in Proverbs this morning,

Looking at vs. 1-10 of ch. 3 to see some Promising Words.

The capstone of our passage is vs. 5-6,

A famous passage you may be familiar with.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This passage is a conditional promise,

The significance of this conditional promise

Is reflected in our outline.

First we will introduce these words that are from

Our Heavenly Father (vs. 1-4)

A Three-Part Command (vs. 5-6a)

The Conditional Promise (vs. 6b-10)

Let your heart keep Proverbs 3:5-6.

Chapter 3 of Proverbs is in the thick of the poetic instruction that makes up the first 9 chapters.

Chapter 2 emphasized moral stability which grows with wisdom,

This chapter is a promise of prosperity.

This prosperity is the fruit of godliness

The meat of our passage this morning comes in vs. 5-6,

Where we will dedicate most of our attention to this morning.

Vs. 5-6 communicate the expectation of childlike trust,

But it is rooted in the sound teaching introduced in the first four verses.

WE: Our Heavenly Father (vs. 1-4)

Teaching that comes for Our Heavenly Father.

Proverbs 3:1–4 (ESV)

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Solomon opens this chapter with an address to his son.

We could picture Solomon’s father, David,

Sitting Solomon down when he was young and giving him this advice.

We could also picture Solomon sitting down his own son,

Perhaps Rehoboam,

And teaching him this wisdom.

If we look at this only on a human level,

We could picture any parent sitting down any child and sharing this counsel with them.

But this is Holy Spirit inspired Scripture,

Therefore, when we hear the words, “my son,”

It is best we take this as our Heavenly Father speaking to us as His sons and daughters.

This relationship is so much deeper than any human relationship,

It is a covenantal relationship involving commitments to one another.

The commands in these opening verses are our part of the commitment.

Our obligations to the Father.

So, our Heavenly Father begins with the command not to forget his teaching.

He wants us to focus on and comprehend his teaching.

The Hebrew word for teaching in vs. 1 is the word torah.

This is referring to Jewish instruction,

Similar to the precepts of the Law of Moses,

But in this case speaking specifically about wisdom or direction.

In the second part of vs. 1,

He refers to his commandments.

Commandments would clearly bring to mind the law,

The ten commandments, for example.

This is an example of parallelism in Hebrew poetry.

The second part of this verse is both reinforcing the first part,

And expanding upon it.

There is a strong connection between the law and wisdom.

Wisdom, in essence, is obeying the law in day to day life.

But this law must be internalized in order for us to obey them.

And inward transformation where the law is written on our heart.

That is what we are being told is our commitment to God in this opening verse,

Memorize God’s Word and to put it into practice.

It is presented in a passive way, to let your heart keep his commandments.

The expected outcome, we see in vs. 2, is a long and full life.

Not necessarily in this world,

But in an eternal sense.

This is the motivation for us to hold up our commitments to God.

A long and full life implies health,

Freedom from threat or need,

Being content and prosperous.

This is the blessing of God.

This is peace being added to you.

The Hebrew word here may be a familiar one, shalom.

Shalom communicates well-being and harmony,

Specifically harmony in relationships.

It speaks of wholeness and health.

Generally, we expect to see the blessings of God primarily in this present life.

This becomes detrimental because,

It is hard to reconcile the suffering of the righteous,

And the prosperity of the wicked in this world.

That is why it is so vital that we see these blessings in light of eternity.

It speaks of the time in the Garden of Eden before sin entered into the world.

The way things are supposed to be.

Complete harmony with God, with other people, and with the world around you.

We can be certain of these eternal blessings because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

The reward of vs. 2 is our Father’s commitment to us.

Then again in vs. 3, we are given another passive command,

He warns us not to let steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you.

Steadfast love and faithfulness is a Hebrew phrase that indicates the advancement of wisdom within a covenant.

It is godliness in contrast to selfishness, malice, and infidelity of the wicked.

The expectation is that we would make loyalty and faithfulness permanent fixtures in our lives.

This practical teaching for life,

Is based on God and His character that is revealed to us in His Word.

He is loyal.

He is steadfast love and faithfulness.

Hold these things tightly,

Keep these things.

Solomon’s advice is to attach them around our necks and write them on the tablet of our hearts.

When these characteristics of God are bound around our neck it beautifies our lives.

Just like the ten commandments were written on tablets of stone,

We are to write God’s wisdom on the tablets of our hearts.

Despite knowing this,

We all fail to do this.

So, what are we to do?

Our Father promises to not only be faithful to His end of the relationship,

But to fulfill our end.

In Jer. 31:33, He promises “to put His teaching within us and write it on our hearts.”

How does God do this?

Through Jesus Christ holding up our end perfectly,

Then sending the Helper, the Holy Spirit,

After He ascended to heaven.

This is an inward-out transformation He does in us.

This is not behavior modification done by our own strength.

That is not what this relationship is about,

It is about our regeneration first and foremost,

Then the behavior follows.

Vs. 4 is the reward for loyalty;

Favor and success,

Both with God and people.

This is a deep understanding of God and others.

This is what wisdom is all about.

This is what we are to desire.

This desire should inspire us to keep the three-part command in vs. 5-6.

GOD: A Three-Part Command (vs. 5-6a)

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

The first part of the command is to trust in the Lord with all your heart.

The fundamental issue of our relationship with God is trust.

You could boil all of Proverbs down to this single truth.

Obedience to God’s Word begins with faith.

This is the key.

The fundamental idea of the word translated as trust is to throw yourself down with total confidence and having a sense or a feeling of peace and security.

We see this word used all throughout the OT;

Lev. 25:18-19 uses it to refer to living in the Promised land safely.

Job 11:18 says you will feel secure because there is hope,

You will rest in that security.

Psalm 4:8 says I will sleep in peace because the Lord makes me dwell in safety.

Again in Psalm 27:3, Even though an army attacks me, my heart does not fear.

Isaiah 26:3-4, God will keep him in perfect peace who trusts in the Lord.

Ezekiel 28:26, The people will live in the land in safety.

This word, trust, is a feeling,

A sense of peace and security,

A sense of ease or comfort,

Even in the most dire of circumstances.

It is confidence in our hearts that is built up by God.

This is what the Bible does,

We see God has been faithful to do this for His people,

And as we read His Word in the present,

The power of this Word does the same building up in the hearts of His people in the present!

He is working faith in us,

Deepening a sense of trust in Him.

And this is God’s desire for us,

That we would trust Him.

Trusting in Him is relying entirely upon His Word and His promises.

To be both our Savior and our Provider.

You see, we get freedom and independence mistakenly intertwined.

We are fooled into thinking we are freed into independence.

But that is not what God calls us to when He says to trust in Him.

He does not tell us to just trust in Him to save us.

He says we must trust in Him to sustain us,

To provide for us.

We are saved into dependence on Him.

Our independence is slavery.

True freedom is complete dependence on Him Who is our Savior and Sustainer.

Brothers and sisters, this is a constant lesson for us.

Oh, how we struggle with this!

How we struggle to trust in the Lord with all of our heart!

To be confident in the Lord.

Every trial we endure is another opportunity to learn this lesson anew.

Think about what “with all your heart” means.

That is a full and complete trust.

There is nothing else competing,

No alternatives.

But again and again we find that we trust in the Lord and something else.

We trust in the Lord and our bank account.

We trust in the Lord and our achievements.

We trust in the Lord and our experience.

We trust in the Lord and our intelligence.

We trust in the Lord and our education.

There are so many options,

So many temptations to give part of our heart to.

And it seems harmless,

But when we do that,

We must acknowledge that we are no longer trusting in the Lord with all our heart.

Trusting in anything other than the Lord will result in disaster.

And that leads into the second part of this command.

The second part is really the contrast of the first,

Do not lean on our own understanding.

Leaning and trusting are two closely related terms in vs. 5.

And God is telling us not to rely on supporting ourselves.

Reject prideful independence.

The enemy of genuine trust in the Lord is self-reliance.

Dear friends,

How often we embrace this idol of self!

How much we trust in the god of self to do anything and everything.

We saw this with the Israelites.

After God put His power on display with the ten plagues,

Brought them out of slavery in Egypt,

Parted the Red Sea and destroyed their enemy, the Egyptians,

Led them through the desert providing quail and manna, and water from a rock,

Right up to the edge of the Promised Land,

Then what happened?

Twelve spies go in,

Ten come back and say, “We do not stand a chance...

The walls of the city are huge,

The warriors are massive,

We look like grasshoppers in comparison to them,

We cannot win this battle.”

And they were right,

They did not have the capacity to take the Promised Land.

So, they turned away and wandered through the desert till they all died.

After 40 years of wandering,

Moses analyzed what happened way back when,

The day they first arrived at the precipice of the Promised Land,

Look what he wrote in Deut 1:32-33

Deuteronomy 1:32–33 ESV

Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

They did not believe the Lord,

They did not trust in Him.

This is the question God asks all of us,

“Will you trust in Me? Or will you lean on your own resources?”

Brothers and sisters,

Trust God, not yourself.

Trusting in yourself is foolishness.

Wisdom starts with recognizing,

You are not wise,

So, you humbly look to God for it.

The way that seems right to us,

Ends in death.

We think the best thing for us is independence to choose what to do with our lives,

Proverbs says that is a suicide mission.

What seems right to us wrecks us.

There is one account in Isaiah 36 of this prideful Assyrian commander.

He came to challenge Hezekiah,

And to everyone’s surprise, Hezekiah doesn’t surrender.

The Assyrians just wiped out all of Judah,

These guys never lost!

So, this commander asks Hezekiah, “on what are you basing your confidence?”

What is the source of Hezekiah’s peace in the face of this adversity?

Leaning on His own understanding,

The commander tries to figure it out.

So, look what he assumes in Isaiah 36:6

Isaiah 36:6 ESV

Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

Interesting imagery this commander uses.

Leaning on our own understanding assumes ourselves as the authority.

Leaning on something communicates a sense of reliance on it.

Like the way a person leans on a crutch or a cane or a staff.

So, what are you leaning on?

During times of trial, what are you leaning on?

The staff of our own understanding is broken and splintered.

When we lean on it,

We fall and we are harmed by the very thing we were leaning on.

If it is anything but the Lord, it will splinter and pierce your hand as you put your weight on it.

It will not be able to hold you up,

It will completely collapse,

Causing you great pain by piercing you the whole way down.

Any idol will fail you.

The specific idol being confronted here is your own understanding.

Brothers and sisters,

It is so foolish for us to lean on our own understanding,

Our understanding is a thimble-full of water compared to the ocean of God’s wisdom.

It does not matter how smart you are.

The more we see, the more we experience,

The greater temptation to say, “been there, done that.”

Economic crises, illness, family challenges,

I have experienced those things,

I know what to do.

And what happens?

We start to trust our own experience,

Our own understanding.

This is a false trust!

We begin to think that we know God’s Word,

I have studied the Scriptures for many years.

Then suddenly, you are confronted with something in Scripture that contradicts your understanding?

Satan seeks to foster that contradiction into a state of unbelief.

He finds a part of your heart that is not trusting in the Lord,

A part that is relying on your own understanding,

And he feeds it,

Growing it into a greater force in your heart.

Thomas Jefferson is a great example.

He wrote in a letter in 1816 about the Trinity,

Listen to what he wrote;

“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Idea must be distinct before reason can act upon them, and no man ever had a distinct idea of the Trinity. It is the mere abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus.”

He could not understand the Trinity,

Therefore, he threw it out.

He leaned on his own understanding.

Many others have done the same.

The doctrine of election, predestination, God’s sovereignty,

How prayer works, the problem of evil.

People cannot understand these things,

So, they decide to throw the Bible out.

The famous atheist, Mark Twain said it this way;

“Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.”

“The gods offer no rewards for intellect. There was never one yet that showed any interest in it.”

That is Twain’s polite way of calling believers dumb.

Friends, it is true that faith reaches farther than understanding.

But Twain’s argument stems from a root of rebellion.

God created us in His image.

Meaning, He created us with intellect.

But there are times where the Creator of intellect goes beyond what our limited intellect can comprehend.

In those times,

Do not lean on your understanding.

There are times where you are going to have to lean on this verse,

Times where you say, “I don’t get it.”

God, I don’t understand what you are doing.

I don’t understand why I am going though this.

I don’t understand my hurt,

I don’t understand my pain,

I don’t understand why you don’t seem to answer,

God…I don’t understand.

Dear friends,

God is telling you,

Trust in Him with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

Think of what Paul says in Rom. 11,

“Oh, the depth of the riches, the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out…Who has known the mind of the Lord?”

There will be times where you do not understand what God is doing,

And it will be a struggle.

But that is the time to trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And to not lean on your own understanding.

The third part of the command is the start of vs. 6,

It is the practical way to trust in the Lord,

Solomon says to acknowledge Him in all your ways.

Acknowledging the Lord in all our ways implies that we know God and we submit to Him.

This is much richer than just acknowledging God,

It is being aware of Him in all our ways,

It is having fellowship with Him in all our ways.

We dedicate everything we do to Him.

It describes a consistent relationship with God.

All you ways speaks of a daily relationship with God.

It refers to how you walk daily,

How you live daily.

It speaks to how you sleep, what you wear, what you do with your money,

How much you eat and drink, how you speak,

How you behave with your family, your friends, your coworkers, your neighbors, and strangers.

All these things are your ways,

All your ways is how you live,

It is your way of life,

It is comprehensive.

It is more than mere acknowledgment.

Like an explorer plants a flag the acknowledge a new found land in the name of their country,

We plant the flag in the name of Jesus in all the ways that come into our lives.

It invites His presence into all activities and decisions.

It is literally knowing God in all your ways.

This is the fundamental issue of our relationship with God.

Knowing the Lord means we have this ever-deepening relationship with God.

It is to see His sovereign hand in all your ways,

It is seeing His authority ruling over all your ways.

Study Christ in all your ways,

Know His power, His compassion, His mercy, His steadfastness in all your ways.

Know Him richly in sweet relationship.

In John 17:3, Jesus describes eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ.

This is the centerpiece of every part of every day of your life!

Paul said in Phil. 3:8 that everything is a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus!

He considers everything else rubbish,

So that he may gain Christ and be found in Him!

That is acknowledging the Lord in all your ways.

And here is the beauty of God,

He knows you in all your ways,

In all the good and all the bad,

And He longs for you to know Him and His infinite goodness.

Jesus is the centerpiece of all your ways,

Want to know Him,

Want Him in all the things you do

Want Him in your suffering,

Want Him in your joy.

Want Him in victory,

And want Him in defeat.

In all your ways, want Him!

YOU: The Conditional Promise (vs. 6b-10)

This is the third part of the three-part command:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

Have this sense of confidence in the power of God.

Do not lean on your own understanding.

Do not rely on yourself,

Do not rely on your idols,

Do not ultimately rely on anything but God.

And in all your ways acknowledge Him.

Every day of your life,

In all the ins and outs,

Know God.

Why?

Why do these three things?

Because the conditional promise is that the Lord will make our paths straight!

He will direct your paths.

He will chart your course,

He will set the direction of your life.

The Lord will guide us to the highest goal in life.

He gives wisdom,

He gives discernment.

He makes righteousness attainable.

The Hebrew word for straight implies smoothing out obstacles,

Making your path clear.

The word is used in Isaiah 26:7 where the prophet says,

“O, Upright One, you make the path of the righteous smooth [or level].”

Or in Isaiah 40:4 ;

Isaiah 40:4 ESV

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

So, the conditional promise is that if you trust in the Lord,

If you don’t lean on yourself,

And if you seek to know Him in everything you do,

He will clear the path ahead of you.

He does this in two ways:

By helping you to avoid what needs avoiding,

And by helping you to do what needs doing.

What exactly do you need to avoid?

To summarize it in a single word, sin.

Friends, can we talk about just for a moment,

How much sin complicates your life?

Sin twists your path,

It makes life difficult and corrupt.

It gets you in over your head,

And leaves you lost on your path,

Wondering how you got there.

Sin leaves you desperately helpless and hopeless.

So, God helps you to avoid the twists and turns that come with sin.

Much of what Proverbs teaches,

Speaks to avoiding these sinful and wicked twists and turns.

God directs your path away from these obstacles that come from your sin.

If you trust in the Lord with all your heart,

If you do not lean on your own understanding,

If you know God in all your ways,

He keeps your path from the difficulties that sin causes.

Think about lying.

When you lie once,

It rarely stops there.

Before you know it,

You are having to lie again to cover up the first lie,

Each lie having to be a little more complex then the last.

Before you know it,

You are entrapped in your web of lies that you began weaving when you first chose deception.

It could be a lie to hide your addiction, your adultery, your stealing, your abuse, your procrastination, your laziness.

Your trying to cover your tracks or save face.

You are terrified any time something starts to feel out of your control,

And a light may potentially shine on what you have been trying so hard to keep in the dark.

The consequences stack higher and higher to the point that you are no longer able to overcome them.

God has the power to free you from this.

He can free you from being constantly angry,

He can free you from the burden of hoping others are not hearing the gossip you are spreading about them.

He can free you from the complications you have invited into your own life by your sin.

Sin twists life,

It makes it difficult.

But if you trust in the Lord with all your heart,

If you do not lean on your own understanding,

If you seek to know God in all your ways,

He promises to help you avoid these traps.

And He also promises to clear the path for what you are to do with your life.

Are you confident with how you are spending the limited time you have on this planet?

Do you wonder what you should be doing with the time you have been given?

Well God tells us in His Word.

It is beautiful, wonderful, awesome!

Ephesians 2:10 says:

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Do you ever consider how God has prepared big plans for you?

He promises to direct your path,

In big ways,

Like who, or if, you are to marry,

What job you are to take,

Where you should live,

Big financial decisions.

God gives wisdom for these things.

That is what Proverbs. 3:5-6 is promising;

The ability to make wise decisions.

But this goes even deeper than just making important life decisions.

This is talking about your life calling,

It speaks to what your tombstone will say when you leave this world.

It answers what your life work will be,

What you did with your life.

And God is saying, He’s got that mapped out for you.

Proverbs 3:7–10 ESV

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. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Vs. 7 is the key to this three-part command,

Not being wise in our own eyes.

That is the root of foolishness,

This is what happened with the first man and woman in the garden of Eden.

It echoes the idea of leaning on our own understanding.

It is relying on human intellect and reason to independently acquire truth without God.

When you think you are wise, you are actually foolish.

Instead of this, submit every part of your life to God,

Fear the Lord.

Dedicate yourself to the Lord.

That is how you will be wise.

And when you veer of this path,

Vs. 7 says, you can repent.

You can withdraw from evil.

But doing this requires humility.

It requires you to recognize your sin,

Recognize your foolishness,

And be willing to turn away from it,

And turn toward God.

True wisdom is both healing and refreshing.

It gives us strength.

Vs. 8 describes this reward;

Your mind and your will and your whole being will be reinvigorated.

This is true health.

The picture here is that wisdom reverses the curse caused by sin.

Wisdom paves the path back to paradise.

Then, vs. 9-10 show the cost and reward in the material sphere.

We like to highlight vs. 10,

Oh yea, fill my barns!

Burst my vats with wine!

Make me prosper, Lord!

But before we get to vs. 10,

We cannot neglect the importance of vs. 9,

It is a practical example of inward piety leading to outward obedience.

When we know God in all our ways,

That includes knowing God with our finances.

To do so is to honor Him with them.

Honoring God with our possessions shows gratitude,

And perhaps more importantly,

It recognizes that He is in control of our material things.

It is a tangible example of trust.

It is dedicating everything to God that He has given to you.

We do not just give God the leftovers,

We give Him our firstfruits.

In Israel’s history,

The firstfruits were the first part of the annual harvest that were given to the priests.

The firstfruits are the earliest and best of the crop.

When we honor God with what He gives us,

We are given more with which we can honor Him with.

This is a real test of faith for us in our materialistic culture!

This means what we give Him is the first item on a budget,

Not the last item, once we make sure we have covered everything else.

Lord willing, next week we will be able to talk about this in greater detail when we look at the later part of this chapter.

Vs. 10 seems to be a promise of worldly prosperity,

But vs. 11-12 are intentionally placed immediately after this verse.

To remind us of even greater prosperity.

The Lord’s discipline and reproof are far greater rewards than material prosperity.

How?

Because material prosperity is something that can happen in a general sense to those who know the Lord and those who don’t.

But the Lord reproves those He loves,

As our Heavenly Father.

Lord willing, next week we will pick up in vs. 11 and look at the remainder of this chapter together.

WE: Application

I would like to close with an application for both the unbeliever and the believer

First, for the unbeliever;

If you are listening and you have not yet trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior,

I want to speak to you in the context of these verses.

You may not know this,

You may not understand,

Or you may just not agree,

But the Bible teaches that you are lost.

Your sins have created obstacles on your path,

But the Bible says that your sins have been forgiven.

If you sense something stirring inside you,

The Bible tells you that it is the Holy Spirit working in you.

So, even though you may be tempted to lean on your own understanding at this moment,

I want to ask you,

Can you trust in Jesus with all of your heart?

Can you lean not on your own understanding?

Because if you lean on your own understanding,

You probably will walk out of here thinking that you do not have to worry about these obstacles,

You do not have to worry about your sins,

You are going to convince yourself that you are mostly good,

So, your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds,

And if God is real then He would have to forgive you because,

By your understanding,

You are more good than bad.

Do not lean on your own understanding.

The Bible clearly says that there is none good, no, not one.

We all sin and fall short of God’s glory,

And the wages of our sin is death.

So, why must you then trust in Jesus with all your heart?

Because, Jesus said,

He is the way, the truth, and the life,

No one comes to the Father except through Him.

He makes the path to God,

The path to heaven straight.

Jesus died to offer forgiveness for our sins.

Your own understanding cannot do that.

So, if you throw down the splintered staff of your own understanding,

And instead trust in Jesus with all your heart,

Know Him in all your ways,

Your wins will be forgiven,

Your path will be made straight.

If you are a believer and you feel like things are going well for you,

I am happy for you,

That is a good thing,

Take delight in the fact that things are going well.

The only caution I would give you,

Is to remember this conditional promise.

Even when things are going well,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Don’t trust in any recent successes,

In your personal life,

Or anything else.

Continue to trust in Jesus Christ with all your heart,

Trust in His shed blood for you.

Do not be fooled into thinking,

“Well, I already did that.”

“I trusted Him, I got baptized, so now I am good.”

When things are going well,

The temptation of pride will creep in.

You will begin to think,

“I don’t need God’s Word anymore,

I have grown in the Lord!”

You will begin to think you are this independent successful Christian,

Forgetting that every good and perfect gift comes from God.

You are too impressed with your own Bible knowledge to remember what Paul says in 1 Cor. 8:2

1 Corinthians 8:2 (ESV)

If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

Perhaps you are not that obviously proud.

But maybe in more subtle ways,

When someone is struggling or asks you for counsel,

What do you lean on when you respond to them?

Do you stop and pray?

Or do you lean on your understanding and offer them your lesser form of wisdom?

I confess, I want to strive to be better at this.

I want to strive to be slow to speak,

To stop and pray and ask God for wisdom anytime someone asks for my counsel,

Anytime someone who is struggling comes to me.

Might I encourage you to strive for this same response?

To know Christ in all your ways.

At every moment, are you seeking to know the Lord, Jesus?

Are the secret parts of your life going as good as your outward life?

Is your prayer life a success?

Are you having as much success putting sin to death by the power of the Spirit?

Is life going well in these areas too?

Or are you living as a white-washed tomb?

Brothers and sisters,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

Do not lean on your own understanding,

In all your ways, know Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Let your heart keep this commandment.

Pray.