Have you ever found yourself asking God, “Why me? Why did you allow this to happen? When am I going to catch a break?”
As I studied Proverbs 3:5-6 tonight, I ran across these words from Adrian Rogers, “Why is it difficult for us to trust the Lord with all of our hearts? I’ll tell you why. It’s hard to trust someone you don’t know.”
Pause for a second and let that hit home as you read these words:
**** Proverbs 3:5-6 ****
Trust the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
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I think one of the hardest parts about truly trusting in the Lord is it’s hard for us to see things from his perspective. We want to rely on our knowledge in the moment and take things into our own hands instead of trust in our faith and the plan that God has for our life. We are stuck in the today, and we forget He sees the big picture.
I know I am guilty of letting my arrogance get in the way of my prayer life. I am guilty of doing what makes me happy in the moment with no regard for the long term consequences.
One of the things that really stuck out to me as I studied this verse was “in all your ways acknowledge Him”.
I don’t know about you, but I’m really great at praying to God when I’m in a bind. I’m really good at praying to God when I am not too tired or rushed that I forget to pray. I’m really good at praying to God when my stress level has reached maximum potential.
But God doesn’t want us to pray when it’s convenient. Our prayer life isn’t supposed to be a buffet of items that we trust taking to God and items we trust handling ourselves. We don’t get to pick and choose where God shows up and helps us and where we want to leave him out. We are called to give it all to Him.
So how do we do that so he can “make our paths straight” and bless us with a successful life designed around his purpose?
1. Deny Arrogance
First, we have to recognize and freely admit that we don’t know it all and we can’t do it without his guidance. We have to let go of our fear and anxiety because they are the signs that we don’t truly know God. If we did, we would trust His plan for our life.
No amount of worry or fear, and no amount of confidence, is going to change the plan God has for your life.
Additionally, we have to recognize that God has rules for our life. We should never pray to God for guidance about things we know are in direct conflict with His word. I’ve been guilty of this on more than one occasion. God will never guide us to follow our arrogance on issues that go against his teachings.
2. Become God Dependent
The first step to becoming dependent on God is to recognize our sins and ask Him for forgiveness and guidance to avoid the same mistakes in the future.
Next we have to take our problems, all of them, to Him and believe He will open the right doors, close the right doors, and provide all the resources we need for the path He needs us to follow.
3. Follow God’s Direction
Finally, we have to be willing to follow the direction God has for our life. He gives us three tools to do that: His Word, Prayer, and Wisdom.
**** Psalm 119:105 ****
Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
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The other day a friend of mine asked me to give him a list of books to read that would help him grow professionally. As I pondered that today, I realized the Bible is the best book for guidance on anything you could ever need.
Once you commit your life to God, He will use scripture and the Holy Spirit to guide you. He can only use those tools though if you develop a great prayer life where you talk to Him. Prayer works when it is based on building a relationship with God and not just based on checking off the last thing on your to-do list at night.
**** James 1:5 ****
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
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As you grow in your relationship with God, you’ll also grow in your understanding of His will. The more you understand His will, the more you will have the wisdom to make decisions in life that lead you to fulfill the purpose He has for your life. And the more you understand all of it, the less you will feel the need to ask God, “Why me?” instead of saying, “Thank you God, I’ll trust you in this.”