Who Do You Place Your Trust In?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

6 Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.
7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.

Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

8 Then you will have healing for your body

and strength for your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the best part of everything you produce.

10 Then he will fill your barns with grain,

and your vats will overflow with good wine.
11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,

and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

12 For the Lord corrects those he loves,

just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Proverbs 3:5-12

Who do you place your trust in? Do you fully and truly trust God in all areas of your life? Is He really the one on the throne of your heart? Or do you trust in your own wisdom and understanding, forsaking His will in matters and opting to follow the 'conventional wisdom' of the world instead? When God asks us to do something outside of our comfort zone, against our common sense or 'better' judgement, outside the norm of this world -anything outside of the box, do we REALLY trust Him and follow through in obedience no matter how ridiculous it seems? Or do we withdraw back into our own understanding, putting ourselves back on the throne of our heart, thus failing to fully trust in and comply with God Himself? When we trust ourselves more than God in matters, then we, in essence, show that we do not believe God.

How about when we are wronged or when we think there is an injustice done to us? Do we trust in God to handle it or do we rely on ourselves to take care of it? I'm not saying we shouldn't stand up for what is right. What I'm saying is when those times come, how do we handle it? Do we seek God's Will in the matter or do we react the way we want to, the way the world says we should?

Oswald Chambers brings up an interesting point. Our own abitilities, possessions, common sense, thoughts, rights, and wisdom are to be of indifference to us. When we start focusing on these things, then we have placed ourselves back on the throne of our hearts instead of Christ. He writes,

" Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply rooted belief in the overshadowing of God's personal deliverance.

The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on a mission for Jesus Christ, thre is not time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, 'Don't worry about whether you are treated justly.' Looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him. Never look for justice in theis world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, 'Why should I be treated like this?'

If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it it just or unjust. In essence, Jesus says, 'Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guide it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.' Even the most devout among us become atheistic in the regard - we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God's name to it. We lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts."

Our complaining is a sign of not fully trusting God WITH ALL and IN ALL things! That statement is such a wake up call to me! We are not to be so concerned with this world to worry about whether we have been justly treated or not. We are simply to TRUST HIM for HE IS JUST and WILL DEAL JUSTICE according to His will and His time. Focusing on the wrongs done to us distracts us from TRUSTING HIM and BELIEVING HIM. It distracts us from HIS MISSION. It causes us to take Christ off the throne of our hearts and put ourselves right back on. Instead, we should seek HIM in ALL that we do and LEAN NOT on our own understanding in the matter. Follow through with obedience in Christ in the matter, not complaining or seeking justice for ourselves according to worldly terms. Lay your complaints out before God alone and then TRUST HIM to handle it.

Proverbs 29:11 says, "Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back." Every Biblical reference to people who vented or complained to others ended up with the complainers in big time trouble. Why? Because they didn't TRUST GOD! I know this is true from my own personal experience. Trust in God today. Don't depend on your own understanding it only leads to trouble. Acknowledge Him in ALL your ways, responding in obedience, and HE will make your paths straight!

In His Love, Cathy