I recently met with young women and shared a story that taught me 7 steps to trusting in the Lord. This is an adaptation of it.
An especially challenging season greets the young woman of today. The responsibilities of making great grades in college while working part-time or full-time pull at her. Single moms wrestle with being a good mom while providing the necessities and even a little extra for her home. And marriage demands a re-focus from the family love she grew up with to a love relationship that is very different.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)
1. Go With the Flow
I had the privilege of accompanying university students to Italy several years ago. One of our adventures was an 8-mile bike ride up to the hills outside of Florence.
We began our trek through crazy traffic. Our guide told us to follow him, “go with the flow” and not worry about the cars coming within inches of us. In other words, trust him and the drivers.
Each time a car got close to me, my front tire wobbled, and I had to stop and try to start again. The students were also excited and came within inches of me. Repeatedly!
Once, I crashed into a stone wall.
Four miles up the hills at more than a 60-degree angle. Front tire wobbling, crashing, restarting, walking, and retrying.
Have you tried to start your bike ride at a 60-degree angle?
I wasn’t trusting my guide’s advice. Instead, I was trusting in my knowledge of how crazy Italian drivers are—how they drive every which way.
My trust to “going with the flow” as Bill had instructed us vanished when I saw the traffic. I was leaning on my own wisdom, which was flawed.
2. Trust God With All Your Heart
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart …”
Warren Wiersbe writes, “The word translated ‘trust’ in verse 5 means ‘to lie helpless, facedown.’ It pictures a servant waiting for the master’s command in readiness to obey, or a defeated soldier yielding himself to the conquering general.” (Warren Wiersbe, “Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living” )
Paul writes about this trust as a complete surrender – a living sacrifice to God in Romans 12:1.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1
Presenting our bodies as an offering to God. Our service as an offering to God is our thoughts, words, and actions as an offering to God.
Don’t Trust Your Understanding
“… And lean not on your own understanding …”
The world’s understanding would be “You’re comfortable where you are. You have a nice life. Why would you want to follow God’s command to take that new job or walk a new path?
Let’s learn how to trust God with all our heart. Let’s possess His promises. Right foot, left foot, God, You lead us to the promise.
Paul continued his plea to the Romans in Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
Walk in God’s Wisdom
We can walk in God’s wisdom. The Holy Spirit is waiting for us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. When we do that and let the Holy Spirit renew our thinking, He will give us the understanding we need, not the world’s understanding.
The world’s understanding is distorted.
Bill, our tour guide, was awesome. He identified me as a hazard and told me to follow right behind him, especially in the traffic. He also told one student who rode her bike within inches of me to drop back behind.
“Don’t look at the traffic, Karen. Look at my tires and follow right in their tracks.”
Deep breath.
Periodically, Bill looked back to see if I was following in his path. He told me to adjust the gears when necessary. As long as I followed his path and adjusted the gears as he told me to, my tires did not wobble, and the traffic did not bother me.
Focus on Jesus
When Peter stepped out of the boat and into the water during the storm, as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked on the water. When Peter looked at the storm around him, he began to sink into the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:25-33).
That’s what I was doing. Every time I looked at the traffic, I wobbled or crashed, many times having to walk for a while.
Bill had no idea the lesson he was teaching me.
Struggles, crashes, and steep hills help us refocus on Jesus.
In my head, I knew this principle and thought I was practicing it. I’d been through storms before. I’d climbed hills steeper than these. But when I was placed amid chaotic traffic, I wobbled because I did not have my focus in the right place.
Acknowledge God
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths“
“Acknowledge” God. Yāḏaʿ [yaw daa], to learn, to know, to know by experience, to know intimately. Trusting God with all our heart.
And what is the promise? God will direct or guide us in His path, in His plans for us. We can trust in Him, lay our lives before His feet, and allow Him to lead us.
Focus On God
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”
To trust in the Lord with all our hearts, we must focus on who the Lord is. He is full of mercy and truth as mentioned in verse 3, “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.”
The word for mercy is hesed. It corresponds to the Greek word agape in the New Testament. It’s often referred to in the Old Testament as “lovingkindness, goodness, and loyalty to a covenant.”
This is God’s love for His people. It is self-sacrificing, eternal, and unconditional. It’s God attaching Himself to us for all time.
The Christian life is strenuous, like a race, like a bike ride going straight up the hill in the middle of Italian traffic. We wobble and crash. Panting for breath, we walk for a while. We get back on the bike and start pumping.
God is near us. He’s ready to remind us to fix our eyes on Him. He’s there to prevent crashes, but if we get our eyes off Him, and onto what we think is our wisdom, sometimes, we crash. When we do, He’s right there, ready to take part of our load and guide us back to His path.
Jesus is right by our side, ensuring that we get to the top of the mountain. It still takes effort. It still takes a bit of huffing and puffing. With Jesus, though, we’ll reach the mountain top.
Let’s trust God with all our hearts
and allow Him to lead us.
How are you rejoicing in God’s love?
Please Share Your Ideas