TRUST IN THE INTERIM

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TRUST IN THE INTERIM

It’s one of those verses that we all know so well that we don’t even pause to read the entire passage:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)

(I bet you didn’t even read verse, you just glossed over it. If you glossed over it, go back and really read it, word for word. …I’ll wait… )

The writer of Proverbs is reminding us or ‘telling us’ to trust in God with every ounce of our being. Jesus said pretty much the same thing when he was asked about the Greatest Commandment. He said: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30 NIV). Jesus says, love the Lord with, again, every ounce of your being. Then the writer of Proverbs, continues by saying, ‘and don’t put any trust in yourself or your understanding!’ In other words; every day, every breath, in every heartbeat of your world, in those situations you understand and in those situations where you are dumbfounded, ‘Trust God and not yourself!’ He then presses the point, and says, ‘in all your ways submit to God!’ So let’s recap this well-worn and familiar verse:

  • Trust in God in everything
  • Don’t trust our understanding
  • Submit to Him

If we live by those three simple tasks, He will make our path straight. He will clear away the rubble, He will dig up the stumbling blocks, and He remove the curves! He will provide understanding as we trust whole-heartedly in Him.

So, what’s my point: We have just completed our first trip around the sun on this journey we have lovingly named: ‘The Interim.’ And now, one year into the journey, we’re getting a little anxious, we’re beginning to wonder what’s happening, we’re concerned they’re not working fast enough. We’re even beginning to think that there may something is wrong with us — and the conjecture keeps building.
It’s in these very days that we must pull out our well-worn friend, and read it one more time, fresh and anew:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)

Let’s trust that God’s got this whole thing under control, and our task is to simply keep walking down the path He’s straightened out before us.

Looking forward to worshipping with you on Sunday.

— John