Thursday, December 3, 2020

Proverb 3:5-6 Lean Not On Your Own Understanding



by Chuck Ness

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. (Proverb 3:5-6)
Ever wonder what you would do if your leader told you to drive into the Ocean after he parted the waters? Would you still have enough faith to trust in the God your leader trusts? Would you have enough faith that the waters would be held back until you got to the other side? Well at the time when Pharaoh's army had the Israelites trapped between him and the Red Sea, the faith of the Israelites was very weak. (Exodus 14) At any sign of troubles they were ready to leave Moses and his God to go back to Egypt and the bondage of slavery.

Kind of like so many of us Christians today. At the first sign of trials and tribulations we are so quick to give up on Him, just as the Israelites did time and time again. Moses told the people to have faith and trust in the Lord who brought them out of bondage. Instead they romanticized the life they had in Egypt. Forgetting all about the whips, and drudgery of slave labor they were forced into. All they could remember was the food they ate, not the suffering they endured at the hands of the task masters, while despising the food from heaven God gave them.
“We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Numbers11:4-5)
Their complaining and attitude about their circumstances made Moses so angry that when God told him to speak to the rock to bring water, he instead lashed out with his staff and struck it twice. God then told Moses, because he disobeyed Him that he and Aaron would not enter into the promised land.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (Numbers20:12)
Their lack of faith caused Moses to lose his chance to enter the promised land. Sometimes anger can backfire and hurt you instead of those it's intended for, even if you think they deserve your wrath. Well, the continued lack of faith, caused them to wonder in the desert for 40 years. While their children, whom they claimed to be worried about if they went into the land of Canaan, were the ones to possess the land. As for them? One by one they all died in the desert, as did Moses and Aaron.

Don't be like those who perished in the wilderness.
Be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)
So have faith, look to the future, and never look back. Don't be like the Israelites or Lot's wife, who looked back and longed for the life she had. She became a pillar of salt and lost her chance at salvation from the destruction that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)
Never look back longingly for the old days by romanticizing the life you once had when you were in bondage to sin. Understand that this Desert we must travel through has many trials and tribulations, but the promise of a new world is ours for the taking. Continue fighting the good fight, and one day you will possess the promised land.

Proverb 3 (NKJV)
Guidance for the Young

01 My son, do not forget my law,
00 But let your heart keep my commands;
02 For length of days and long life
00 And peace they will add to you.

03 Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
00 Bind them around your neck,
00 Write them on the tablet of your heart,
04 And so find favor and high esteem
00 In the sight of God and man.

05 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
00 And lean not on your own understanding;
06 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
00 And He shall direct your paths.

07 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
00 Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
08 It will be health to your flesh,
00 And strength to your bones.

09 Honor the LORD with your possessions,
00 And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty,
00 And your vats will overflow with new wine.

11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
00 Nor detest His correction;
12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects,
00 Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
00 And the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
00 And her gain than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies,
00 And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand,
00 In her left hand riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
00 And all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
00 And happy are all who retain her.

19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;
00 By understanding He established the heavens;
20 By His knowledge the depths were broken up,
00 And clouds drop down the dew.

21 My son, let them not depart from your eyes--
00 Keep sound wisdom and discretion;
22 So they will be life to your soul
00 And grace to your neck.
23 Then you will walk safely in your way,
00 And your foot will not stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
00 Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror,
00 Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;
26 For the LORD will be your confidence,
00 And will keep your foot from being caught.

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
00 When it is in the power of your hand to do so.
28 Do not say to your neighbor,
00 "Go, and come back,
00 And tomorrow I will give it,"
00 When you have it with you.
29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
00 For he dwells by you for safety's sake.
30 Do not strive with a man without cause,
00 If he has done you no harm.

31 Do not envy the oppressor,
00 And choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD,
00 But His secret counsel is with the upright.
33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,
00 But He blesses the home of the just.
34 Surely He scorns the scornful,
00 But gives grace to the humble.
35 The wise shall inherit glory,
00 But shame shall be the legacy of fools.

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