Trusting God involves relinquishing our limited understanding and submitting to His guidance, as He sees the whole picture and directs our paths. God’s Book of Wisdom cracks hard hearts. Proverbs 1 “Gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding Divine Words of insight; let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”  But fools despise advice. A stubborn heart resists any correction or change to their preferred beliefs, and comfortable, selfish plans. 

“Whoever listens to Me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
God commands that we trust Him and not trust our own understanding. This is the part we struggle with, isn’t it? This is what wrecks us because we desperately want to understand. We want to see the whole picture before we move forward. We want to know how it’s all going to work out before we take the first step. We want guarantees, we want certainty, we want control. But God is in control and He tests our faith to trust Him with each step, each decision. The verse “lean not on your own understanding.” Means that we depend on something not of ourselves. To lean is to rest our burden on it, to rely on it for support. Why not trust Who we know is ever faithful and true?

Our understanding is limited. Our perspective is narrow, and our knowledge is incomplete. We can’t see what’s around the corner or what’s down the road. We can’t see all the factors at play in our future. We can’t even fully understand the present. Our understanding, no matter how intelligent we are, no matter how experienced we are, we are limited. Our understanding fails us and lead us astray. But God’s understanding is unlimited. His vision of our future is complete. His knowledge is perfect. He sees everything, the past, the present, the future. He sees all the factors at play. He sees the consequences of every decision. He sees the ripple effects of every action. He sees what we can’t see. Our Creator knows what we will never know until we face Jesus.

God invites us to trust Him. “In all your ways, submit to Him.”  Not just in the big decisions, or in the spiritual moments. We are called to trust God in the crisis and in all our ways, every choice, every relationship, every plan, every step, every moment, submit it to God. What does that mean? It means we bring everything before God for His counsel. We ask for His guidance, we seek His wisdom, we submit our will to His. We say, God, this is what I’m planning to do. This is what I’m thinking about and the direction I’m considering, but I’m holding it loosely. I’m not married to it. If my way isn’t your will, redirect me. If this isn’t your plan, close the door. If this isn’t the best path, show me a better way. I’m submitting this to You. Lord, have Your way. AMEN — His promise? God makes our path straight. That doesn’t mean our life gets easy. It doesn’t mean we won’t face challenges or hardships. It doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly or that we never experience pain or disappointment. But it does mean that when we trust God, when we lean not on our own understanding — when we submit our ways to Him, Holy Spirit guides us. He direct and leads us exactly where God’s plan is. He will makes our path straight as He goes before us to remove the obstacles. He provides clarity where there was confusion. He gives direction when we ask. 

We cant see God working at the time, but looking back, we see His hand as He prepares us and positions us. What looked like a detour was actually a divine appointment. What looked like a setback was actually a setup. A closed door was actually God’s protection from something that would have harmed us. If we try to figure it all out  on our own, we resist the Wisdom of God to insist on our own way. How’s it working out? Is it time to let go and trust God? His ways are not our ways and we are wise to thank God for that!

Sin starts in our mind. As we entertain fear, envy, anger, or bitterness we have already sinned.  First a thought, then we act or we cast it down, replace it with TRUTH. Guard your heart by guarding our thoughts. Captive EVERY thought and place the Bible above it.  Mark 7:23 Deceit, slander, evil thoughts. Kingdom thinking or stinking thinking. When our narrative takes a detour from truth, we go into battle with the sword of TRUTH.  Replace toxic thinking. The truth sets us free. Master thoughts and the tongue by obeying God’s Wird and THINK ABOUT what is good, true, noble, praiseworthy.

JESUS taught about the seriousness of thoughts. Matthew 5:27-30 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into HELL. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into HELL.” Jesus was talking to His disciples. Guard your eyes, mind, and tongue from temptations and live gladly abiding in His tranforming Word.