Pastor Derek’s
Devotional Journal for August 18, 2009
Day 8 – Trust in God is the key to life
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-9 NLT
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
7Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.
What is the writer saying?
Rather than reasoning everything out and weighing the pros and cons, we need to trust in God and obey Him in everything. When we do that, the choices we are to make become more clear to us.
We must not become full of ourselves, thinking that we know better than God. The danger is that we become careless and end up living in sin. Instead, we must have a healthy fear and reverence of God, for when we do, we will turn away from sin and evil. Only then can true spiritual and emotional healing take place.
We must put God first in everything. Its all His anyway so we must give the very best of what we have back to Him, rather than merely giving us what is left over. In return, God promises to provide us with all we need.
How does this apply to my life?
Logic! It can sometimes be my worst enemy. It’s not that God asks me to set my intelligence aside or to no longer count the cost; rather, my tendency to reason things out can get in the way of simply listening to the voice of God and obeying Him. In my own mind I can justify letting down my guard in the name of building relationships for evangelism. I can justify giving God what’s left over rather than giving Him my best, because, after all, God knows how “busy” I am with life. Choosing this path will only lead to frustration, disappointment, guilt and heartache. I must again realize that in Him I find all I need.
My prayer:
All knowing Father,
You know the ending of my life from the beginning. You know the days of my journey on the earth. As it was with David, you know when I get up in the morning and when I lay my head on the pillow in the evening. You know the consequences of decisions I make before I even make them. Your knowledge and wisdom are perfect. They never fail.
In spite of all this, too often I rationalize my decisions, relying on my own less-than-perfect wisdom. But today, Lord, I commit my choices to your hands. I choose to listen to your quiet voice. Speak to me, O God. Guide me this day. And may the decisions I make be pleasing to You.
I am listening.