"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all thy way acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths," Proverbs 3:5-6
The opening scripture provides us with a simple way to receive direction from God. A closer look at the passage, points to four areas of consideration that will navigate us to the right direction in the journey of life.
The first step is to "trust in the Lord with all thy heart" The word "trust" is an Old Testament word for "faith" "believe" in the New Testament.That means that you should have faith in the Lord and believe that God has our best interest at heart and desires our best welfare.
"For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace,and not of evil, to give you an expected end."(Jer29:11).
We must believe that God has the ability and the compassion to make good the promises He made to us. He has said in the book of Psalms 32:8
"I instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shall go:I will guide thee with mine eye"
Our eyes and hearts must be focused on Him who is the source of our help.
David demonstrated his trust in God anytime he was in a crossroads by seeking the face of the Lord for directions. For example,in 1Samuel30:1-8 when his camp in Ziklag was attacked and when hope seemed to have been lost, David summed up courage and asked the Lord for divine directions. It was after obtaining the green light that he set out to pursue the invaders and he eventually recovered all.
Secondly, "lean not unto thine own understanding" As believers we are often caught in the web of conflict between the wisdom of God and wisdom of the world. The human faculties have been so developed that almost every issue is subjected to scientific investigation. Consequently, we tend to shut out the input from our spirit when making decisions. This is most unfortunate. Bear in mind that "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death"(Proverbs 14:12) The way that seems the most logical and sensible in our own human estimation, often turn out to be the way that leads to spiritual death or backsliding.
Isaiah explained further when he quoted God as saying" For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thought(Isaiah 55:9) In other words, the ways of the world are not the ways of God. We are no match for God. Our intelligence and experimental logic are but a broken reed, which if we lean on it, will always fail us.
Therefore my beloved brethren,no matter how intelligent you are, always lean on God for directions. Many people have made great mistakes because of relying on their personal assessment. One good example is Joshua. The Gibeonites deceived him to enter into league with them by claiming to have come from a far country whereas they were local inhabitants of the land Joshua was to possess by eliminating them. Instead, "And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them to let them live:and the princes of the congregation sware unto them"(Joshua 9:15) The consequences of this action is well documented.
Thirdly, "In all thy ways acknowledge him". This is a call to prayers. "
"Call unto me, and I will answer thee,and shew thee great and mighty things,which thou knowest not"(Jeremiah 33:3)
Here the Lord extended invitation to prayers to you with the assurance of response to your request and He even promised to show you great secrets pertaining to your life journey. You must believe the Ancient of days who knows the end from the beginning. In fact, the manual of your life lies in the palm of His hand. The Psalmist alluded to this fact when he says "My times are in thy hand..." Wisdom demands that you approach God in prayers for the revealing of the operational compass to locate your direction in life. You must acknowledge God in all your ways. Ask for His counsel and request direction from Him.No matter how small the issue might be, in all thy ways acknowledge Him. Someone has said "To every little plan, add a little prayer"
Finally, "He shall direct thy paths"
What a comforting assurance! God will never leave you at the crossroads,He will show up to show you the way. Remember the Israelites in the wilderness, without geographical compass, no human guide but the Lord was right there with them as a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night. Don't forget also how He guided Apostle Paul and company in the missionary journey recorded in Acts 16:6-11.
Brethren, be rest assured that the Lord will guide you in your journey through life if only you can trust Him and acknowledge Him in all your ways.
