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1. The Lack of Total Commitment
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart"
The reason there is so much mistrust
toward the word "trust" today is due largely in part to the object of trust proven
to be worthless. Wanting to avoid being burnt or hurt any more, people simply avoid
trusting anyone or anything, fearing a hidden agenda or a repeat of a bad scenario.
You remember the old adage, “Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on
me.” Pessimism, skepticism, cynicism, bitterness, and negativity orbit around people’s
perception of trust in a culture permeated with the decay of integrity, unable
to stand up for what is obviously right and fail to condemn that which is blatantly wrong for fear of judging.
We live in a world that is headstrong on "nothing is sacred" and the non-existence of absolutes. Often in Scripture we see foolish trust in some shaky
person or rickety things, like idols. Ever read the statement, "In God we trust; all others provide data?" This is where we are in the moral and ethical morass of our culture.
In a physical sense the word trust in the
OT simply means to lean upon something for support. This provides a mental
picture of its figurative usage of leaning, depending, or relying upon someone
or something for help or protection. When “trust” (Heb, batah [H892]) is placed in the LORD and not people or things, the
results are totally different! The enterprise of trust is restored and
encouraged.
Trust in this passage is unlike any
other trust known to man for the object of this trust is Yahweh, the eternal
One – “Trust in the LORD.” It is a trust built on an unfailing confidence,
security, hope, reliability, and assurance of the integrity and ability of the
Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; He is trustworthy. Whenever the object of trust is God, it gives
the word trust a reliability rating of infinite! It is a command by Solomon to his
son to confidently place his (probably Rehoboam) trust in Yahweh. Sensitivity
and vulnerability are insured and protected by a faithful, covenant-keeping
God. He will never comprise our trust! He will not fail us! There is no
hidden agenda, only to make us wise! This is way cool given the depth of wisdom
we are tapping into (cf. Rom 11:33).
Trust involves the heart which is the
seat of our intellect, emotions, and will. The command is to “trust in the LORD”
with the totality of our heart – “with all [y]our heart” or wholeheartedly. Only
wholehearted trust as opposed to half-hearted trust will discover God’s will.
It is worthy to note that God is interested only in the whole heart (cf. Deut
6:5; Mk 12:30). This is no less than total commitment to the LORD. This runs
counter-intuitive to a culture that is practically non-committal towards
virtually anything save its own agendas.
Unless there is a WIIFM (what’s in it for me) guaranteed, commitment
is scarce on any level, including Christians. Half-heartedness is the first
stumbling block to the discovery of God’s will or the right path according to King
Solomon. The quality of trust for the "paths" (sanctification) is the same quality of trust for salvation (cf. Eph 2:8-9; Jn 15:5; Php 4:13). Though we have no problem
with trusting God for salvation for our eternal destiny and security, faith in God over temporal affairs of life, on the other hand, seem to give us fits! We can’t
save ourselves nor keep ourselves saved, and we certainly cannot live the
Christian life without God’s help, but the path of the righteous demands a total
commitment to God, wholeheartedly on our part, "with all [y]our heart."
2. Self-Reliance
"and lean not on your own understanding"
Trusting wholeheartedly is the absence
of leaning, depending, or relying on our own
understanding, homespun wisdom, intelligence, judgment, insight, or feelings –
“lean not to [y]our own understanding.” The second stumbling block according to
Solomon in discovering God’s way is self-reliance. Put a couple of letters
behind our name, a good job, good health, and some extra money in our pockets, and a
spirit of independence begins to grow like bacteria; somehow we are changed by
these earthly things. The heart doesn’t thirst for God like a deer pants for a water
brook any longer; we’ve outgrown the need…. We got it all figured out now. The
intensity level and sensitivity to His leading have curbed the desire. We no longer need to
pray or read and study the Word and seek His face because we are wiser than
God in our mind.
The wisest man on earth other than Jesus reminds us that wisdom begins
with “the fear of the LORD” (Prov 1:7; 9:10; cf. Psa 111:10). Wisdom is doing
the will of God! The path will never be plain or straight to the spiritually
ignorant and self-reliant who have no fear (awe-struck, reverential trust) of
God in their heart.
3. An Atheist Mentality
"in all your ways acknowledge Him"
The reality of the third stumbling
block to discovering God’s will is startling and perhaps unexpected, but the
truth of it is clear; we don't acknowledge God in all our ways. This second command to "acknowledge" God by Solomon to his son is more than a
mental assent; it is interactive, intimate, and experiential. Like the first
command to trust, the object of the second command is the LORD – “Him,” and includes an encompassing action along with trusting “with all [y]our
heart” of acknowledging “in all [y]our ways.” This is Coram
Deo, practicing the presence of Christ in the daily routines of life, which
is precisely what atheists are not fond of doing! Not quite what Solomon had in mind, but the
behavior fits the profile. Unfortunately, most of us who profess to
be Christians are in actuality practical atheists going through our normal
activities without entertaining thoughts of God or interacting with Him or reading the
Word or praying or rejoicing or fellowshipping with Him or other believers throughout
the week. It is acting as if God doesn't exist except on Sundays or during some kind of crisis.
Isn't easier for us to acknowledge and
praise God when all is going well? Part of independence is the
absence of fellowshipping with God 24/7, seeking His counsel and advice in all
our ways, desiring to know and walk in the right way. Ever wanted something so
badly you didn’t have time to pray to seek His wisdom or His will in the
matter? It’s our money, right? We should
do what we want with it! It’s a life of a Christian atheist. I know it’s a
contradiction of terms, but it’s a major stumbling block to discovering God’s
will for our lives when we do not acknowledge God in all our ways, seeking His will in everything.
The Promise, "And He shall direct your path"
Finally, we come to the promise! With
total commitment, no self-reliance, and practicing the presence of Christ we
can know God’s will! There’s the proverbial dangling carrot, the benefit to all of this!
He will direct [y]our paths.” The heart is wholly engaged; God-reliance is in
full gear, and practicing the presence of Christ in the daily routine of life
are giving room for God to work in our lives more specifically (cf. Psa 78:41-42).
What is the point of God showing us a path
if we are not spiritually ready to obey Him? The path is never plain nor smooth while in disobedience to God's will. One thing is for sure; this directed path is always according to His Word. God is duty bound
to honor His Word. He will never compromise truth for grace. So there is a very
high premium place on His Word. His Word is the path; the path is His Word;
this is the general path for all believers. The specific leading or plans God has in store for an individual believer follows the general path as well, but neither the general or specific path is clear as long as these three stumbling blocks obscure the path of God's will.
This promise to "direct" is more than guidance;
it is a promise of making our paths smooth and straight to the appointed goal –
God’s personally tailored purpose for the individual (Rom 8:28). God is personally involved contrary to the claims of deist. Now, isn’t
that the trillion dollar question – what is man’s purpose or aim here on this
miniscule terrestrial ball within the vastness of lifeless space? If I threw
out a popular evangelical purpose like, our chief aim is to glorify God and
enjoy Him forever; it probably would arouse a low level “amen,” or a guttural ho-hum to the spiritually insensitive. But
this is our ultimate purpose.
Whenever the pursuit of our own
selfish dreams, ambitions, and goals are the priority of life, taking precedent over God, knowing and
doing God’s will for our lives are never brought into union and moving beyond
academia. Living a life under the sun according to Solomon is living a life
apart from God. It amounts to nothing more than futility, vanity, and emptiness
with no eternal values attached to it, only wood, hay, and stubble. It becomes a meaningless existence like
the way of the natural or sensual man, or in other words, as the man without
Christ, living only for the immediate without purpose (cf. Psa 78:33). Those three stumbling blocks are in the immediate, given existence by a life swirling around the ego.
Truly, the words “trust” and “acknowledge” are two troubling
verbs for believers surrounded and inundated by a pervasive culture of secular
humanism of distaste for Christians and treating the claims of Christianity as irrelevant. The center and focal point of humanism is man,
not God. Such an air of independence was sought during the period of the
Judges in Israel (Jdg 21:25). It runs amuck now! One thing history teaches us is that man doesn't learn from history! When being self-centered or
ego-centric is more important than being God-centered for a believer, the typical effects are a lack of total commitment, an abundance of self-reliance, and no
thoughts of Christ throughout the day, resulting in no direction or guidance
from Yahweh. Sin is in the camp, and no one is going anywhere for God's glory as long as sin remains (Jas 4:17)!
Living life above the sun is to have
an intimate relationship with God (Deut 6:5) and to glorify Him in anything and
everything, anywhere and everywhere, and anytime and every time (Col 3:17; 1 Cor 10:31). The
verb to glorify suggests genuine attitude and action that is pleasing
to God. God’s wisdom is vastly superior to us (cf. Isa 55:8-9; Rom 11:33-34). This
is why so few glorify God in the way (Jn 14:6) because the object of “with all
your heart” and “in all your ways” has been compromised. Consequently, we are
completely off track with God. We are found to be on the road highly traveled living a life without need of God.
If we just would do what Solomon laid out for us in Proverbs 3:5-6, we could very well be ridding or relieving
ourselves of some of life’s problematic potholes, bumps, and road blocks in the road. He promised to show us
the right way, why would He not if we are living for Him (Rom 12:1, 2)? Well, these are the three stumbling blocks to knowing
the right way. It is promised if we obeyed His commands, “He will direct
[y]our paths.”
“Wisdom is the principal thing;” said Solomon in Prov 4:7, “Therefore get wisdom. And in all your
getting, get understanding.”
Sense the urgency? Proverbs 3:5-6 is truly wisdom; we need to be wise for the lack of it is troubling for you and me (cf. Prov 14:12). Oh, beloved, in all our getting, we need to understand that those three nasty stumbling blocks serve only to prevent you and me from glorifying God and enjoying Him and making our life a little easier in the process. He did promise to make our paths, not trouble-free, but smooth and straight if we trust in Yahweh wholeheartedly, God-reliant, and practicing the presence of Christ everyday in every way! <><
Sense the urgency? Proverbs 3:5-6 is truly wisdom; we need to be wise for the lack of it is troubling for you and me (cf. Prov 14:12). Oh, beloved, in all our getting, we need to understand that those three nasty stumbling blocks serve only to prevent you and me from glorifying God and enjoying Him and making our life a little easier in the process. He did promise to make our paths, not trouble-free, but smooth and straight if we trust in Yahweh wholeheartedly, God-reliant, and practicing the presence of Christ everyday in every way! <><
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