Plan for: Thanksgiving | Advent | Christmas
Explores the importance of trusting in God's wisdom over our own, bearing life's challenges with faith, and becoming steadfast through trust in Him.
Good morning, dear friends. It's a wonderful day to gather together in the house of our Lord, to soak in His Word, and to let it nourish our hearts and minds. As we gather here today, we stand on the precipice of a profound understanding, a deeper knowledge of our God and His wisdom. We're here to understand what it means to trust in the Lord, to lean not on our own understanding, but to submit ourselves fully to His divine wisdom.
The Scripture that will guide us today is from the book of Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6. It reads,
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
This passage, dear friends, is a powerful call to faith, a call to trust in the Lord. It's a call to surrender our own limited understanding, our own flawed wisdom, and to allow God to guide our steps, to make our paths straight.
Mandy Hale once said, "The more you go with the flow of life and surrender the outcome to God, and the less you seek constant clarity, the more you will find that fabulous things start to show up in your life." It can be difficult to trust in God but the outcomes will always be better.
When we think about wisdom, we often think about it in human terms. We think about the wisdom of our elders, the wisdom gained from experience, the wisdom we seek in books and learning. But God's wisdom is of a different order entirely. It's not bound by time or space, not limited by human frailty or fallibility. It's a wisdom that sees all ends, that knows the number of hairs on our head, that understands the deepest desires of our hearts.
It’s like a vast ocean: We are like children playing on the shore. We can scoop up a handful of water and marvel at it, but we can never fully grasp the immensity of the ocean itself. And yet, we are called to trust in this wisdom, to believe in it, to let it guide our steps.
Not always an easy thing to do: Our human nature often rebels against this idea. We want to be in control, to understand everything, to have all the answers. But the wisdom of God is not something we can fully comprehend. It's not something we can control or manipulate. It's something we have to surrender to, something we have to trust in.
Acknowledging our own limitations: We have to recognize that our understanding is limited, that our wisdom is flawed. We have to admit that we don't have all the answers, that we can't see all ends. This can be a humbling experience, but it's also a liberating one. It frees us from the burden of having to know everything, of having to be in control. It allows us to lean on God, to trust in His wisdom.
Learning to listen: God speaks to us in many ways - through His Word, through the beauty of creation, through the still small voice in our hearts. But we have to be willing to listen, to quiet our own thoughts and desires, to tune out the noise of the world. Listening to God requires patience and humility. It requires us to be still, to be attentive, to be open to His wisdom.
Acting on it: It's not enough to simply acknowledge God's wisdom or to listen to it. We have to put it into practice. We have to let it guide our decisions, our actions, our relationships. This can be challenging, especially when God's wisdom seems to contradict our own understanding or desires. But when we act on God's wisdom, we find that it leads us to peace, to joy, to a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him.
Trusting in it, even when it doesn't make sense: There will be times when God's wisdom seems foolish to the world, when it goes against conventional wisdom, when it leads us down paths we would not have chosen for ourselves. But we have to trust that God knows what He's doing, that His wisdom is perfect, that He is leading us towards His good and perfect will.
A daily practice: It's a practice of humility, of listening, of obedience, of trust. It's a practice that transforms us, that shapes us into the image of Christ, that draws us closer to God. And as we practice believing in God's wisdom, we find that it becomes a source of strength, of comfort, of hope. We find that it leads us to a deeper understanding of God, of ourselves, of the world around us. We find that it makes our paths straight, that it guides us towards the abundant life that God has promised us.
As we move forward, we find ourselves in the realm of faith, a realm where we bear all things with the strength that comes from our trust in the Lord ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO