Happy Friday! Nothing all that exciting going on around here…except for more HOT weather. Praying for rain! Anyways, yesterday I started reading in Proverbs. I was a little scared to start—Proverbs can be a bit daunting, and you have to read rather slow in order to take everything in—but now that I’ve begun, it’s not so badJ My reading yesterday included one of my favorite verses of all time…
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
I seriously still remember learning this verse in my fourth grade AWANA class back in the day. I must have been paying attention, because it has stuck with me through the years. This verse has been a verse that I fall back on when ever I was faced with a tough decision, or felt overwhelmed by a situation or just life in general.
Here’s how I see it. When making important decisions, it’s CURTIAL that we include God in the process. Actually, more than include. He should come first—before any of our own ideas. Why? Because our ideas can become partial to the things that we personally desire. Then of course, there’s our pride. We think we can make our own decisions and we want to be independent—we don’t want any outside help. However, if we were to fully rely on ourselves (rather than on God) before an important decision, it would most likely be made out of our own selfish desire—not necessarily the decision God would have is choose.
On the flip side, involve God in your decisions, and you are pretty much guaranteed a right answer. I’m not saying it will be the easiest or most convenient answer, but it will be the right one. And that’s what is most important.
Acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
The decisions he has you make may not always seem to make sense at the time. In fact, they may seem downright silly. Especially to those who care about you and want the best for you (ie family and close friends.) If you’ve ever had to make a tough decision and chose to follow God’s prompting instead of the prompting of those around you, then you know what I mean by this. But in the end those decisions will be the best decisions you have ever made, because when you “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” you can’t go wrong.
What about you? Do you have a tough decision that needs making today? Pray about it. Ask God for direction ad guidance. And then listen. Pay attention to his promptings—because they may come in ways that you least expect them.
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