“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Pr 3:5-6 AV)
This is such a well-known passage that it often is neglected for meditation. It is referenced quite a bit. There are songs and choruses written about it. Yet, it goes underutilized in the sense we do not stop, think hard about it, evaluate our own level of faith, and make necessary changes. This is what we are doing thins morning. There are several questions we can ask. Do I trust the LORD with all my heart and what does it look like to trust the LORD with only a portion of my heart? What understanding do I lean on, and am I aware it does not compare to the understanding of God? How often do I go about any given day and make choices without considering God in all of it? These three questions would take a book to explore. Let me hone in on just one. Do we acknowledge God in all our ways? What does that mean? The word for ‘acknowledge’ means, “observe, recognize; to designate”. This puts the phrase in a better light. In all our ways we are to observe, recognize, and designate God’s presence, opinion, and sovereignty. The requires the saint to be God-conscious every waking moment of the day for the day is made up of innumerable choices one after another. In our text, Solomon suggests the primary reason we are not God-conscious is that we do not trust Him. Lack of faith is at the root.
Faith is a funny thing. Most associate faith with a feeling. To have faith, some assume, means to feel confident. To have faith, some believe, means to be absent of all fear. Faith is not a feeling. Faith is an action. Faith is a belief so strong, that one is compelled to act upon that belief even amid obscurity. Faith is a choice. Faith doesn’t have all the answers. Faith accepts what it is told because the source is credible and has never been wrong before. Faith sees the promise or statement and judges the author of it as perfectly trustworthy, even if one’s own opinion might be contrary. Solomon is trying to teach his children there are times when God’s ways will not make sense and even though we doubt the trustworthiness of the truth, the author of that truth can be trusted.
Last night, we had a missionary speak on the faith of Abraham. It impacted me quite a bit. In particular, he advised that we not hold up saints who have gone through difficult times as an exception to a rule which we cannot see ourselves as surviving. His point was, when we do this, we are undervaluing God’s role in all of it. God can and does meet us where and when we need Him most. There is nothing we will ever face that He cannot see us through it. Trusting was a choice on Abraham’s part. It wasn’t a feeling of confidence. Although he had that. It wasn’t a lack of fear. Although he knew God would raise Isaac back from the dead if need be. Faith was not the emotion attached to his choice. Faith was raising the knife to slay his son. Faith was a choice to act on the faithfulness of God and leave the consequences with Him. That is what it means to exercise faith. It is a choice. It is a choice to trust the LORD more than anything else. If we do that, then peace and confidence follow.
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