There is a huge amount of political rhetoric flying around
in these days leading up to the coming elections. One party is referred to as
“leaning to the right” and the other as “leaning to the left.” Often the
unspoken question is, “Which way are you leaning?” Please relax because I am
not going to descend into the political arena! There is far too much innuendo,
blatant untruth and unnecessary personal attack coming from both sides. What we
really need is the giant broom of righteousness to sweep through our
government.
In the book of Proverbs, Solomon challenges us to a “leaning”
that is a key to releasing the blessing and power of God in our lives. This is
far more important than political ideology.
“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” (Proverbs
3:5-6).
I break this wonderful passage
down this way.
- The Challenge
The challenge is presented to us
through two statements. “Trust in the
Lord with all your heart” and “In all
your ways acknowledge Him.” Do you think it appears twice because we are
stubborn and slow to learn?
The word translated trust means “to lie helpless, facedown.”
It is a picture of someone who has surrendered and is waiting for a command to respond
to and obey. It does not suggest that we turn off our brain and ignore our
intelligence and common sense. It is an acknowledgement that we are limited in
our capacities and abilities — and He is not. He is God — and we are not!
“In all your ways acknowledge Him” is speaking about the entire course of your life. It means
that we set Him first and invite Him to be involved in all aspects of our life:
personal and professional; public and private; present and future. To
acknowledge does not mean to tip your hat to God, to nod as if in agreement; it
means to totally and wholeheartedly embrace God and His working in your life.
The word acknowledge here also means
“to know” on an intimate, personal level. These two challenges are clear in
their boundaries; we are to choose to acknowledge/to know Him “in all our ways”
and “with all our heart.”
- The Question
Solomon follows his challenge to trust with “lean not on your own understanding.”
The implication here is that we are to lean into Him and not continually
retreat back to reliance on our own abilities and intellect.
We lean on the Lord by getting close to Him; leaning into
Him allows His strength to become our strength. Sometimes we don’t have the
strength to deal with what is happening in our life but He does! The Lord wants
us to be close to Him, so close that His strength is there for us to lean on.
The question that each of us has
to answer is, “Which way do I lean?” Are we content to make our own way through
life resting on our own abilities and wisdom? Are we so arrogant that we
believe we have most, if not all, the answers? Have I brought my intelligence
and abilities to a place of submission? If not, why not? What would hold me
back from letting God’s blessing flow into my life?
Which way do you lean?
- The Promise
“And He will direct your paths.” This is God’s promise to His children. God says, “I will
direct or make straight/successful the paths of your life.” When I study this
verse, I keep going back to a mental picture of a bobsled run. Most of us have
seen bobsled races as a part of the Winter Olympics on TV or perhaps on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. On each side
of the track are eight- or ten-feet-high banks of ice and snow that keep the
sled on the track where it is supposed to be. The slickness of the ice, the
accumulating speed, and the downhill slope make it difficult under the best of
circumstances to keep the sled centered on the track. Even though the sled may bounce
from side to side, with the safeguard of the banks the sled will stay on the
racing track most of the time.
So it is with our downhill race to
the finish line of God’s purpose for our life. God makes a promise to us: “You
put your trust in Me and get it off yourself and I will keep you on track.
When you start to slip and slide, I’ll be there and I will keep you safe
and on course.”
Which way do you lean?
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