I’m pretty sure that ever since my second Friday of Pathfinders in first grade I could have recited Proverbs 3:5-6 to anyone at any time. The thing I have been learning this week is that there is a big difference between knowing a truth in my head and knowing that truth in such a way that it sinks into the core of your being and impacts the very way you live your life. Obviously, this is not a new lesson for me, but it is one that God has been pounding me with this week.
I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about what I’m doing next year. Crunch time is fast approaching, and my decision is (hopefully) imminent. I have a couple of options that I am considering, and I am confident that at any of them I will enjoy my job, have great opportunities to serve, and will learn a lot. The issue is that (obviously) I want to make the best decision, not just a good decision. And I have been stressed out lately about which one I’ll choose. Which is odd, considering I just finished memorizing Philippians, which includes the verse, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I can recite that verse all day long. The disconnect comes when I try to take the verses I know in my head, such as Philippians 3:6-7 and Proverbs 3:5-6 and actually live them. It’s taking a while for me to learn this one, and I don’t know when it will sink in for good, but I’m now aware of the problem, and I think that’s an important first step to finding the solution (which will involve a lot of prayer and time in the Bible.)
This is rather a late comment, but I thought you would appreciate Piper's insight into these verses, as outlined in the Preface of his book, "Future Grace". [If you haven't read it yet... do so!]
ReplyDeleteHe writes, "Over the years I have come to see that this passage is a call to live by faith in future grace. The call to live by faith is in the words, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart." The reference to future grace is in the words, "He shall direct thy paths." Month after month my mother counseled me to trust the Lord and she showed me that the focus of my trust is what God promised to do for me in the future: "Son, the Lord will direct your paths; trust Him, trust Him."...She taught me to live my life between two lines of "Amazing Grace." The first line: "Tis grace has brought me safe thus far." The second line: "And grace will lead me home." ...I learned that believing the first line fortifies faith in the second line; and believing the second line empowers radical obedience to Jesus."