“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
In the winter of 2010, I began to feel God leading me to embrace the role of mentoring young girls and women for the Kingdom of God. Although I felt a clear leading from God, I did not have any idea as to where I should begin. I confess, I am still figuring this out. After taking several tentative steps in the direction of God’s leading, I began to experience a series of extraordinary events and circumstances that can only be called, God-ordained. After a while, these occurrences became so pronounced that I had no doubt that God was illuminating my path one step at a time.
In one of these instances, I ran into someone I had only met once before, and in response to his inquiry about what I was up to, I shared what God had placed upon my heart, and right there, he gave me his business card, and said, “I am in.” I had not even extended an invitation to him yet, and I wasn’t even thinking of doing so at that stage of my emerging journey, but apparently God had done so in the span of time it took to narrate my story. Immediately, I understood Proverbs 3: 5-6, and what it means to “lean not on our own understanding.” This positive response to my vision did not make sense, and yet, it seemed like a confirmation that this dream was going to be God’s doing and not mine. Since then, God has interrupted my painstakingly thought out processes over and over again to let me know, he’s in control. I am learning to surrender to His leading.
The writer of the book of Proverbs exhorts us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Why the heart? Jeremiah gives us an answer, “It is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9a). And therefore to surrender the heart is to let go of all our crutches. It is to be completely vulnerable. You see it is tempting to trust in one’s position, title, history, experience, knowledge, skills, possessions, qualifications, connections and strategies among other things, and yet where do all these come from, if not from the hand of God? The path of trust is not an easy one, it is lonely, it is hard and it is filled with self-doubt and the discouraging voices of others, even discouragement from other believers. But just because your vision takes a different path from someone else’s, does not mean it is wrong, or that God is absent. It simply means that God has mapped out a unique path for you.
The path of trust runs counter to all the modern three-step, ten-step or twelve-step “process books” that give us a clear path from A-Z. Walking in trust, means being willing to be ridiculed and abandoned for not following society’s well-defined paths to success. It sometimes means being willing to take the jagged and winding path, and by doing so, learning precious lessons that only God can teach. It means being willing to completely surrender the reins to your heavenly Father, and trusting him to guide you one step at a time into the unknown. It means being open to making mistakes and by doing so, gaining valuable spiritual knowledge and experience.
Are you facing a situation that has left you lonely and afraid? Trust him! Is it hard to keep going when you cannot see round the bend? Trust him! Today the Lord reminds you through Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.” As difficult and as impossible as your situation might seem right now, seek to acknowledge Him in all your ways and he will direct your path. God alone sees into the future, and if we focus our eyes on him, he will lead us there. Few of us have the discipline required to “let go and let God.” I know I struggle with relinquishing control and perhaps you do too, but the admonition in Proverbs is to hand over the reins to God and trust that even in moments of uncertainty and vulnerability, he whose thoughts and ways are higher than ours could ever be, is directing our paths with the goal of achieving his divine design for our lives. Gradually, as you walk in trust, you will begin to see patterns that point to the fact that God is at work in your situation.”
May you experience his leading today as you trust him and follow him down uncommon pathways.
Father, I trust you. I know you will guide and protect me as I obey your will. Teach me to decrease, so that you might increase in me. I want more of you and less of me, so that glory may go only to you. May your holy spirit guide me along the path. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.