Often I respond to written prayer requests from people who give their email address the encouragement of Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
I have been pondering lately the three conditions that are required in order to receive His direction, realizing more clearly that each has its own challenge. I'm working toward experiencing wholehearted trust....asking Him to help me truly understand what goes into being 'wholehearted'. I find it easier to acknowledge Him because of the growing knowledge of His incredible Names and try to remember to do that in every area of my life. But the one that is the hardest is the mental thing! Quite frankly, it's tough to divorce myself from thinking my own thoughts when it comes to leaving the issues of life in His hands. How is He going to answer my prayers, when He will do it, and what will the outcome be? All too often I find myself involved in mental gymnastics as I seek to figure out how God will "fix" that which concerns me.
Why is it that we try to figure God out? The Word says His ways are past finding out (Romans 11:33)! It is obviously a foolish waste of energy to attempt to put such a great God in the small box of my expectations! He won't fit! When God is not acting in the manner I expect, I can become frustrated and anxious- once again, proof of my leaning to my own understanding! Tells a lot about my maturity, doesn't it? Again, I wonder why He takes so long in some cases when the answer is perfectly obvious to me. Says a lot about an obnoxious attitude that robs me of the quietness and confidence that could be mine if I would simply trust Him to be the God He is. Only He knows how often an answer has been delayed because I consistently seek to figure things from my perspective instead of simply trusting Him with the issue!
In His lovingkindness, He brought to my attention Proverbs 20:24, NLT, a timely word to enable me to jumpstart the growth toward wholehearted trust: The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? Isaiah 30:19-21 swiftly came to mind as I was reminded that the issue of circumstances, regardless of how difficult or how stubborn, really doesn't matter. What does matter is obedience to the Lord's instructions: "This is the way, walk in it!" He rarely gives insight up front. That comes much later and is called hindsight! Did I understand His message? You bet! His instruction was short, sweet, and to the point, and I am trusting Him to help me work out the application from this point on!
Thanks, loving Father, for yet one more reminder that You are God who has so graciously taken the responsibility for me and all things in my life; and You never make a mistake, Your timing is perfect, and You love me unconditionally in spite of myself! Today, I ask that the sum total of my expectation be found in You alone as Psalm 62:5 KJV instructs. O, help me learn to truly rest in You, leave life up to You, and profit from what I learn of You through each and every circumstance! Papa-God. You are so precious to me!
I love You,
Your fledgling daughter