January 20, 2012
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; Think about Him in all your ways and He will guide you on the right paths.” Prov. 3:5-6 Holman Christian Standard
God knows that you were born with a predisposition to trust in yourself. He didn’t originally create you that way .. but it happened. You may have well-developed skills to examine and weigh options and choices. You may not have those skills and yet the both of “you” are inclined to trust your own thinking over God. But the Lord who is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness” has continued through generations to call each us back to Himself as the true foundation of our trust. He does so by telling each us that he will “guide us on the right path”. Not only that .. but we are renewed .. restored .. and strengthened when we place our trust in living our lives in Christ. Our conflict arises when “we” want a path that seems at odds with the path God is leading us upon. So we wrestle back and forth trying to convince the Lord that our intentions are good and truthfully we really don’t know very much about being good. We like to think that we do .. but our faith history is littered with brokenness and barren lives of trying to live independently from the Lord. The oldest of all the Psalms begins with this timeless truth: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His love endures forever.” Jesus lived this truth in front of our eyes. He lived a life of complete trust in the Father’s faithfulness. And He offers each of us this same life in Himself … a life of trust grounded at the Cross … and empowered by His indwelling resurrected life. “All your heart” is who you are and what you trust. “All you ways” is how you live and who you trust to guide your heart and guide your hands and feet. God doesn’t hide His promises. He has promised to guide your life on right paths .. paths of righteousness .. truth .. justice .. grace .. forgiveness .. and redemption. Without Him is a life of confusion-filled weariness that finds comfort in things and not faith. The life that Jesus Christ offers you is for right now … with everything you are carrying at this moment .. and with everything He promises he will be and do in your life. It only takes a moment …
“but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength …” Isaiah 40:31- Holman Christian Standard
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Trust-gripping followers of Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)
