April 25, 2024

Trust In The Lord

October 11, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Lean not on your own understanding
In all of your ways acknowledge Him
And He will make your paths straight

Don’t worry about tomorrow
He’s got it under control
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And He will carry you through

Lord, sometimes it gets so tough
To keep my eyes on You
When things are going rough
But when I turn my eyes up to the sky
And I hear Your voice, it says to me

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge Him
And He will make your paths straight

Don’t worry about tomorrow
He’s got it under control
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And He will carry you through

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And He will carry you through

Sung by Rob and Heidi Paoletti

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will direct your path.
Proverbs 3:5-6

I love this Scripture!  You might say it is my life verse.  Whether I know what the day is going to hold, or not, my desire is to trust my Creator God with every moment of it.

Here are just two of many reasons I desire to trust Him:

  • Since He is the Beginning and the End, He also knows about everything in-between.  As believers, this fact should give us a comfort that He’s got it under control.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End,”
says the Lord God. “I am the One Who is, Who always was,
and Who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Revelation 1:8

  • He already has a good plan for me!  Jeremiah 29:11 reassures us with this quote from God Himself,

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.”

It’s very true that life gets rough and tough, and that makes it hard to keep our focus on God sometimes.  In those times, oh, how we need to keep listening for His Holy Spirit’s sweet guiding voice, and keep our eyes on Jesus, our Savior and our example.  Men and women, like Ruth, Esther, Peter, and Paul, are prime examples of those who went through rough times, and yet they followed the leading of God’s Spirit, accomplished God’s plan for their lives, and blessed others along the way.

I have a friend who, for me, has been an example of this verse.  As a young adult she trusted the Lord, and He prompted her to get her nursing degree.  She listened, and she watched for doors to be opened and closed according to what God wanted for her life.  As a single woman she went into dangerous foreign mission fields, because that’s where God led her, and she trusted Him.  Through the years He also blessed her with a godly husband, and together they continued to go where God “made their paths straight.”  They served Him together on several more mission fields before they retired.  It sounds glamorous, but there were many rough and tough spots along her/their path. If they hadn’t trusted the Lord—if they hadn’t kept their eyes on Him, and their ears open to the Holy Spirit’s leading—many people would have never heard about Jesus and His love.

My friend is widowed now.  She has had to make some tough decisions about her future.  Instead of “leaning on her own understanding,” she is trusting the Lord to direct her path.  She is anticipating that He has more ministry for her to do, and He will carry her through.

In the rough and tough times, I have a tendency to want to control things.  Since listening to this song and meditating on this Scripture, I must question myself…

Am I really trusting the Lord with all my heart?
Am I really acknowledging His sovereignty
and allowing Him to direct my path?

If I can answer ‘yes’ to those questions, then God will make my path straight, and I will have opportunities to share Jesus and His love with others.  How will you answer these questions?

Trust Him.  He will direct your path.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Dear Lord God, we know that You love us just as much as You loved Ruth, Esther, Peter, and Paul.  You love us just as much as You love my friend.  You have a good plan for each of us, and You know the beginning, the end, and all the in-between of our lives.  Please help us, Lord, to trust You with our whole heart, to acknowledge Your sovereignty, and allow You to direct our path.  We love You, and want to live wholly for You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Girls with Swords: Chapter 9 – “New and Ancient Paths” / “Change Environments” (pgs 142-147)

May 21, 2013 by

New and Ancient Paths

But my people have left me to worship the Big Lie. They’ve gotten off the track, the old, well-worn trail, And now bushwhack through underbrush in a tangle of roots and vines. (Jeremiah 18:15 MSG)

Ouch! I don’t know about you, but this picture of being tangled up in roots and vines and trying to plow through on my own does not sound very pleasant. But such is what happens when we leave the path and seek our own interests and desires instead of God’s. This isn’t anything new. We as humans have been doing it for centuries. But, let me ask you this…isn’t it time that we get back on the well-worn trail, the path that leads to holiness and righteousness? The path that leads to LIFE? Isn’t it time to make a new way, to let God lead us down difficult paths even if we do not understand them because we KNOW that HE does?

Are you stuck? Do you not know where your path is? Do you have trouble seeing how you can get over the mountain that faces you?  Sister, God always provides the answer to our entanglements.  “Just as a machete clears paths in the wild, the sword of God’s Word has the power to sever what entangles us” (pg. 142, emphasis mine).  Take it to the bank.  It is a promise. You might be facing a mountain right now. It may be something of your own doing or it may be something God has allowed in your life for a divine purpose.  Whatever the reason, you must know that the Word of God will light your path every step of the way. Your path may seem confusing and senseless to you but it makes complete sense to God because He sees the whole picture. He knows it all because He is sovereign. With God, we have the chance to walk in a new and living way.

By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. (Hebrews 10:20)

If you want to know what to do next, go to His Word.  Pray.  Talk with Him.  LISTEN.  WAIT.  He will speak to you but you must give Him the opportunity!  “Through the power of His Word, He makes a way where there seemed to be no way.” (pg. 145)

Change Environments

I am going to quote an entire paragraph from this section because it really spoke to me and I think it is so very important!

Sometimes you need to make a radical environmental change – turn off your television, get off the Internet, and hang up the phone. When all these voices are silenced, you have a chance to quiet yourself as well. However, this isn’t an invitation to meditate on a deeper revelation of YOU but to experience a deeper revelation of HIM.

When Jesus came in and cleared the decks of your life, the enemy did not disappear; he just moved aside. He was not gone; he was simply out of sight, watching for an opportunity to reestablish himself. To avoid a hostile reinvasion, you must firmly establish a new lifestyle and environment (pg. 146, emphasis mine).

Wow, right? In order to forge our way and return to the ancient path, it might be necessary to make a radical change to our current life. Remember, we are called to be IN the world but not OF the world (1 John 2:15-17). What changes do you need to make today in order to return to the ancient path…to be a trailblazer like Jesus? This section was very convicting for me and I know I need to spend some time in prayer to see what my Lord would have me do. It is very difficult to change our environment, especially when we are comfortable. But God does not really want us to be comfortable. He wants us on a mission, to reach the lost and hopeless, to be trailblazers for His Kingdom.

What does it mean to you to be a trailblazer?

TRAILBLAZER.JPG

Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Holy Word. Thank You for teaching us and convicting us, guiding us and leading us. Continue to show us the way we should go, to be trailblazers for Your Kingdom. Help us to make environmental changes where You want us to, even if those changes are difficult, Lord. Give us strength and courage to push through our entanglements, leaning on You every step of the way. You alone know all and are Sovereign. We can trust in You. Thank You, Father, for Your love. We love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,