Let God

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Meditation

Trust is hard for most people, me in particular. I have been hurt by people I trusted. My heart has been stomped on a couple of times. So, when I think about the first few days after I was saved, I can be grateful to God. One day in the week or so after my salvation, I opened by Bible right to this verse. I know it was God telling me I could trust him. It wasn’t a miraculous or instantaneous trust, but I learned over a relatively short time the Lord will never leave or forsake me. When I finally reached that conclusion, I was all in. I was ready then to put my whole trust in Jesus Christ. I knew I could trust him to direct my path and it was up to me to follow his lead.
As a fallen and imperfect human, I occasionally (more regularly than I’d like to admit) lie to myself that God doesn’t want to be bothered with every little problem or decision I have to resolve. I tend to tell myself that lie a lot when the outcome is so important to me. I try to work things out in my own strength and understanding. It usually turns out to be a disaster waiting for a place to happen, when I do that. My pride wants to world to think I’ve got it all together, when in reality, most of the time, I haven’t got a clue. It’s like walking around with a blindfold covering my eyes. One obstacle jumps out in front of me all the time. It’s so predictable you’d think it was God putting them in my way. I want to put all my trust in the Lord, but I still, after twenty years as a believer, sometimes fail to.
As I look back, or more inward, I can see where the Holy Spirit has given me a slap up the backside of my head, figuratively speaking, of course. When then inevitable failure of my independent act finally happens, he’s there with the, “I told you so,” reminder I’m not trusting him. I can’t believe I do that so often. When my trust is squarely where it’s supposed to be, when I’m following the path laid out before me, it’s like I’m on a long straight highway with no traffic snarls. You’d think it would be easy for me by now. However, have I acknowledged his superior plan for my life when I fail to take my plans and troubles to him first? I rest on the fact he knows I love him, and always want to do better, but…




Prayer Time

Heavenly Father, you are the master and maker of the universe. We praise and worship you with our songs and prayers. You want only what’s good for those who love you. Give us a calm spirit, Lord, as we struggle with everyday problems. Help us to always trust you, even when we don’t understand why things are happening the way they are. You are the most powerful being in the universe. There’s no mystery as to why we should put our trust in you. However, Lord, circumstances cause us to temporarily forget why we trusted you in the first place. We ask the Holy Spirit to remind us, in those desperate times, that you are our fortress. Remind us to seek your face and follow in the footsteps of Jesus when we are distressed. When we acknowledge Christ as the King of our lives, we give him the reigns to steer us on the righteous path. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotional for May 12 - May 18

Image
To all my readers: I am changing this blog to a weekly format. I am being forced to do it this way because this blog site is saying my blog is too short to continue publishing. I purposely try to keep it short so you will have time to read it every day. I hope you will understand and keep reading. Thank you, Brad Hopkins May 12 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15) Meditation Before I was saved, I worked in a very competitive environment. Many of my co-workers were very jealous of the accomplishments of others. I have to confess; I too would get that green-eyed feeling if I didn’t get promoted when I thought I deserved it. Outwardly, I showed a happy face. I would congratulate the person who was recognized or promoted, but inwardly I was terribly envious. I received as many promotions as most in my career field, but I couldn’t rejoice for others because of jealousy and covetousness. I didn’t know how to deal with grief s...
Read more

Where is Your Citizenship?

Image
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Philippians 3:20) Not long after I decided to follow Jesus I began to realize I didn’t really fit into my old life anymore. The things I used to think were great fun had lost their appeal. The sci-fi television programs and movies I used to always want to watch, seemed inappropriate. Probably because they were literally my religion before I got saved. My friends didn’t understand why I wasn’t coming around for most of the old activities. I guess I was in the process of figuring out where my citizenship was, heaven or hell. Now I understand, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am a citizen of heaven, I’m just a temporary visitor, to this world. My passage home to heaven has been paid for and guaranteed by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I live my life as a resident alien and look forward to the day I move on to my permanent and eternal residence. Jesus will rescue me and the rest...
Read more

Preach the Word

Image
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2) Meditation I used to think it was only the pastors job to preach the Word of God. I’m not a preacher, so it didn’t occur to me to share the gospel. However, this verse does not say, “Preachers, preach the word.” Whether you realize it or not, we are all ministers of the gospel. We have been charged with the awesome task of telling everyone about Jesus and why he went to the cross. When Jesus gave the “Great Commission,” to make disciples of all nations; he wasn’t just talking to his own disciples. He was speaking to every one of us. There is no other mission or calling more important than that for us. Even if we go to church every Sunday, but do nothing else, we’re not in the game; we’re just spectators. Jesus doesn’t want fans, he wants followers. Whether we’re in church or somewhere else, we’re responsible t...
Read more