Let The Journey Begin Series

That’s why I gave you that homework assignment and why I’m so serious that you actually do it. There are a lot of people out there who believe in God but they don’t trust Him. Ted Turner claimed to be an atheist, but the truth is that He believed in God and God let Him down. When he was growing up, his sister came down with a fatal disease. Every day he prayed and begged God to heal her … but she died. God was not to be trusted … so Solomon’s advice would fall on Ted Turner’s deaf ears and hard heart. Since God could not be trusted, it then logically follows that the only understanding that you have to lean on is yours or that of the world … or that of the world that makes sense to you … follow? They may acknowledge God but they don’t trust Him, therefore they trudge through life making their own way … either accepting the path they’re on as it is or trying to fill the pot holes, smooth out the bumps, and straighten the road themselves … exhausting work, believe me. And should they meet with any success in this life, they can take all the credit. “See … look at what I’ve done.” They don’t acknowledge the work of God in their lives because they don’t believe in God or trust God but the truth is that it is no doubt still the work of God even if they don’t want to acknowledge it.

The word that Solomon uses for “acknowledge” in verse 6 is “yada.” You might have heard it before. You know, “I ran into Mabel at the grocery story yesterday and … yada, yada, yada … you know how she likes to gossip.” It means “to know.” And again, we need to pause here and really get to “yada” what Solomon is saying here. Yada goes both ways. If you need some kind of specialized surgery, who do you want performing the surgery? Someone who just got out of med school and has only performed the surgery once? Or do you want someone who “yada” the procedure? Who studied for years and done the procedure hundreds of times, and “yada” … knows … everything there is to know about the procedure and who “yada” … knows … you?

The story is told of a man on the side of the road trying to fix his Model T Ford that had broken down. He had been working on it for a long time but he wasn’t having much luck because, well, cars were a new technology at that time and he didn’t have much knowledge about fixing cars. Still, he needed to fix it so … he was doing what he could but nothing seemed to be working when a beautiful, chauffeur-driven limousine pulled up behind him and well-dressed man got out and came over to where he was working. He watched the fellow for awhile and then suggested that he make a minor adjustment to the carburetor. The young man was skeptical but figuring he had nothing to lose by humoring the man, he made the adjustment and to his surprise, the car started right up. The young man was amazed. “How did you know?” he asked the gentleman. “Well,” said the gentleman, “I’m Henry Ford and I made the car so I know all about how it works” (Inrig, G. Hearts of Fire, Feet of Clay, amazon.com, p. 111). I can trust in the Lord with my whole heart because nobody … nobody … knows me better than my Creator, my Father in Heaven. And I “yada” … I know … the Lord because He’s given us the Owner’s Manuel … this [hold up Bible]. Right here in today’s scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6, we are told how to walk through this life with God in very clear steps. We trust the Lord because we acknowledge His existence. Our faith comes from our personal experience with God and from the experience of His people as recorded in the Bible. Each step of faith leads to another step of faith. As we continue to walk in faith, our faith continues to grow. As He directs us … as He goes before us and makes straight the way … we acknowledge that this is the result of His work and not our own. The fact that the way is made straight is proof that He is with us every step of the way, guiding us, directing us. Those who don’t believe, those who don’t seek Him out, who don’t listen for or listen to His counsel … strike out on their own and tough their way through life, touting their victories as their own and either blaming God or the world for their failures. But we have found that when we acknowledge His presence … when we listen to His council and follow His guidance … we find that He does indeed direct our path … a path that leads us home … a path that leads us to a deeper and closer relationship with Him and He will remove any obstacles that get in the way of that relationship.