Those Who God Directs

Text: Proverbs 3:5-6

Title: Those whose paths God directs

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 contain one of the greatest promises in the Bible: God promises to direct your paths or as other translations of verse 6 put it; God promises to make your paths straight or as it reads in the Message “ He will keep you on track.”

So whichever translation you choose to use Proverbs 3:5-6 always amounts to a great promise.

It really is a great promise for another reason too; because God promises to direct all your paths.Your education path; your career path; your family path, your “paying the bills” path, your retirement path,..

No matter which path you are on God promises to direct them all.

Ps. 37:25 “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

However God’s promise to direct our paths is a conditional promise.

It is conditional on us doing some things in order to free God up to direct our paths.

1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

2. Lean not on your own understanding

3. Acknowledge Him in all your ways.

So our 3 points for today are these:

1. God directs the paths of those who trust in Him with all their heart.

It starts with trust! If we want God to direct our paths we have to first trust God with all our hearts.

Old Hymn: Trust and Obey

“But we never can prove, the delights of his love until all on the altar we lay; for the favor he shows, and the joy he bestows, are for them who will trust and obey.”

A great New Testament example of God directing the paths of those who trust in him with all their heart is found in John 14:1-3

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. I will come back to take you to be with me that you may be where I am.”

If God has a place in heaven reserved for those who trust in him do you think he just might also have other things; like a career, a spouse, a family, also prepared for those who trust in him?

If I am trusting in God for my salvation should I not trust in Him for everything else?

God is looking at the heart. When he finds a heart that trusts in Him He directs that person in the paths he or she should go.

So what does a heart that trusts in God look like?

Mary the mother of Jesus had a heart that trusted Jesus

A. A heart that trusts in God is a surrendered heart (Luke 1:v38)

“I am the Lord’s servant.” May it be to me as you have said.”

Mary surrendered her heart to the promises of God.

When you got married to your spouse you surrendered your heart to the vows your spouse made. You trusted your spouse to keep the vows they made to you.

You trust God when you surrender all your heart to him and too his promises

Old Hymn: I surrender

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to thee. Fill me with thy love and power, let thy blessing fall on me.

You and I have an enemy that does not want us to trust God and to surrender our hearts to Him.

He successfully prevented Adam and Eve from trusting in God and surrendering their hearts to Him and he tries with us too.

He tries to put doubts in our hearts about God’s real intentions

He lies to us by offering us a better plan than God offers us.

2. God directs the paths of those who lean not on your own understanding

What do we mean and what do we not mean by the term “your own understanding.” Does God refuse to direct the paths of those who think for themselves?

There must be two very different types of understanding in mind here.

1. Your own understanding

2. Understanding that God gives you.

1. It’s implied here that your own understanding must be an understanding that contradicts God’s understanding.

2. God’s understanding must be an understanding that contradicts our own understanding.

The bible says in Proverbs 16:25 there is a way that seems right to man but in the end it leads to death.

It can seem right by your own understanding but be totally wrong by God’s understanding.