Some of my most favorite childhood memories are of when my father took my brother and me to Pine Mountain in Columbus, Georgia with some Army Rangers and other friends to rappel down the side of a 100-foot cliff and off a bridge. Wow, what adventurous times those were. I can remember Sargent Andy yelling at us, “Lean back and trust the rope, it’ll hold you, I promise!” Placing all anxiety and fear of falling out of my mind, I would begin to lean back and allow the rope to support me.
As I then released my brake hand, feeling the rope slide through my fingers, I would slowly begin to move down the mountain. Only when I truly trusted the rope did the rappelling work properly. When I tried to stand up instead of leaning back trusting the rope, my position was compromised and movement stopped. Let’s look back at our key verse for these thoughts on trust and get us moving again.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.
As we mentioned last month the temptation is to do the complete opposite of this verse and lean to our own understanding and trust not in the Lord with all our heart. The problem with this is like rappelling—if we don’t fully trust in that One who holds us, all production will be stopped and momentum decreased. Only when we fully trust in the Lord will we prosper and see the progress that we desire. Proverbs 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered” We are not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of the wicked, or sit in the seat of those who mock the wisdom and counsel of God. It is only the counsel of God that ensures absolute stability and guarantees an outcome of blessing. The first key to trusting in God is allowing His Spirit of Truth to lead and guide in all things.
King David in Psalms 25:4-5 prayed it best when he said, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truths and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I will wait all the day.” When we decide to create new ways, and blaze new paths, and devise new truths, we find ourselves at dead ends.
Time and time again in the short time I’ve been alive I have seen God lead me in directions that seemed to be the wrong way and against natural understanding, and yet, as I trust in the Lord I continue to wake up to the dawn of God’s perfect and blessed will.
When Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He was giving direction concerning how the will of God is ascertained, so that we would not be in question of our position and His place in our lives. He knew that without some help we would be in trouble, so He sent the Spirit of Truth to ensure that His words would be taught and we would be reminded daily as we sought the Lord. He also knew that we would face the worldly riots and need the heavenly joy to overcome the opposition that confronts our trust of His truth daily. The second key to trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts is learning to abide in the Word of God.
John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
Free from what? Free from anxiety, oppression, poverty, sickness and confusion. I believe that inherently we all know that what is true cannot be stopped or changed. This is why everyone is looking for the truth because again what we believe to be true we will place our trust in. We want something that we can trust to support, provide and keep us safe. The problem is that everything outside of fearing God and keeping His commandments is vanity and grasping for the wind. Only when the hearts of men are turned back to believing that there is a God and that His ways are perfect, that His word is proven, and that He is a shield to all those who put their trust in Him will we become the people and nations that He has destined to be.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.
As you trust in the Lord and His words of truth, remember you will see growth. Be confident and of full courage as you stand in the face of all that opposes the truth that you have come to trust in, for God will not allow the righteous to be forsaken!