For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
Trust is difficult, especially in times when you feel like there is no one you can trust. In the case of today’s Scripture, it is you — your own heart — that you cannot trust.
We can, however, trust in the LORD!
What we have here is an either/or situation. We are either trusting in the Lord or we are trusting in ourselves. Everything in the world tells us to listen to our hearts and follow our hearts and be true to ourselves and so on and so forth. All of that has us doing what we want when we want it. It sounds pretty good, at least on the surface. The issue is that we often want the wrong things.
Take for instance what I want right now. As I sit here writing this, I want a double cheeseburger and some crunchy tater tots. I want to wash it down with an full-sugar green Mt. Dew. For good measure, a couple of Little Debbie snacks could top me off and leave me sitting fat and happy. That flies in the face of the hard work I have done the last several months of trying to eat healthier and live healthier so as to honor the Lord with my body and be healthy enough to be the husband, father, pastor, and teacher I have been called to be. My wanter is broken.
The things I want are wrong for me. Yes, they satisfy whatever whims I come up with, but left to myself, I will never want to make healthy choices — or in the context of Proverbs, wise choices. Yes, sometimes we want to be dumb; it’s called willful ignorance. So, how can we trust ourselves if our desires long for sin and stupidity? We can’t. We need someone trustworthy to keep us on track.
If you are saved and follow the Lord, you know that you can trust in Him and not lean on your own understanding. You can put yourself fully in His hands and trust that He will take care of you. You can trust that God the Father knows best and has your best interests at heart. When your understanding calls for the contrary, you can trust Him when He leads you in His ways.
When it says “in all your ways acknowledge Him”, it means give Him control in all of your ways. That is, after all, what it means for Him to be Lord. He calls the shots. You follow in the way He directs. He will “make straight your paths” and keep you going where He leads!
So, what will you do: trust in the Lord or go your own way?
Lord, help us to follow you. You know we want things that are bad for us. You know the sin we struggle with is the sin we desire. Please fix our hearts and help us to want what You have for us and to understand that Your ways are better. Help us to trust You with our lives and live it according to Your wisdom rather than the wisdom of the world. Amen.
Just Keith Harris 