Not Leaning on Our Own Understanding

Proverbs 3:1-8 ESV

“My son, do not forget my teaching,

    but let your heart keep my commandments,

for length of days and years of life

    and peace they will add to you.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

    bind them around your neck;

    write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor and good success

    in the sight of God and man.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths.

Be not wise in your own eyes;

    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your flesh

    and refreshment to your bones.”

If we believe in Jesus Christ to be our Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior (from sin), we should have this kind of dedication to the Lord and to his service. Jesus should be our all in all. He should be the one in rulership over our lives, and we should be his possession, and our lives are now to be lived for his glory and praise and not for our own selfish gain. Every day that we live is to be lived for him to do his will and to follow in his footsteps.

And if we are to be those who do not forget his teaching, then we must first of all be students of the Scriptures who know what they teach and who are living what they teach to us, the body of Christ, his church, in his power and strength. For if we are not daily in the word of God, letting the Lord teach us from the Scriptures, then we won’t know what they teach, so then we cannot remember what we don’t know in the first place.

So, we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their context who then are putting the teachings of the Lord into daily practice in our lives. And then we are not to forget our Lord’s teachings. We are not to be those who forget his commandments (now under the New Covenant). We are not to be those who cast aside the teachings of the Scriptures so that we can live life however we want and not for the praise and glory of God.

Included in the teachings of God/Christ are the teachings on the subjects of steadfast love (includes mercy, goodness, lovingkindness, piety, and obedience to God’s commandments) and faithfulness (or firmness, truth, reliability). All of this is centered in God and in his word and in his divine character and will for our lives. So this is not based in human emotions but in love and faithfulness to our Lord and to serving him and other people.

This fits with the commandments to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV) And this “love” prefers to live through Christ, embracing God’s will, choosing his choices, obeying them through his power.

And this kind of love and faithfulness are to be a part of our character and of our godly nature because we have our God living within us in the person of the Holy Spirit, and our lives are now surrendered to the Lord to do his will. And now we are living lives which are separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made to be like Christ. And so loving others and loving God and being faithful to him should now be second nature to us.

And when we truly love God with this kind of love and faithfulness, then we are also those who are trusting in the Lord with all our hearts, for half-heartedness will never produce the kind of love and faithfulness this is speaking of. It cannot. For in that case our hearts are divided between the flesh and the Spirit, and that doesn’t work. And I am not saying we will be perfect in every way, but lukewarm is not love and faithfulness to God.

So, in all that we do in this life, and in all that we think and speak and believe, we are to put our trust in the Lord Jesus, and we are not to lean on our own understanding. For our own understanding may not lead us in the ways of God, and it may lead us away from God or to what is not of God, and to what is not the will of God for our lives but may even be what is contrary to God’s will for our lives.

So, in all our ways we are to acknowledge our Lord, turn to him, pray, and ask for guidance and direction and wisdom in knowing which way to go. And the Lord will make straight (righteous, upright, godly) our paths. But if you already know the right way to go, because of the Scriptures, don’t ask God for a second opinion. Don’t try to be wise in your own eyes and try to find ways around doing what you know you ought to do.

Instead, we are all to fear the Lord. We are to honor, revere, respect, and obey him. And we are to take his commands, his promises, and his warnings to heart and we’re to remember that all his promises have conditions. For we must turn away from evil, forsake our lives of sin, and now follow Jesus in obedience to his New Covenant commands if we want to have his promises. For if we continue in sin, and don’t obey him, we don’t have eternal life.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Walk With Me

By Al Langdon and P.J. Zondervan

Walk with me, walk with me, 

Lest mine eyes no longer see 

All the glory, all the story of Your love; 

Talk to me, talk to me, 

Like You spoke so tenderly, 

When You talked there, 

When You walked there by the sea.

Talk to me, talk to me, 

Lest mine ears no longer hear 

All the wonder, all the beauty of Your grace; 

Walk with me, walk with me, 

As You walked so lovingly, 

When You walked there, 

When You talked there by the sea.

Let me follow in the footsteps 

That trod the shore of Galilee, 

Let me learn to pray like He did 

In the Garden of Gethsemane; 

Take my hand, take my hand, 

Teach me Lord to understand, 

All the duty, all the beauty of Your love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no8_yctK-Zg

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