DO YOU HAVE A PARTIAL OR FULL FAITH AND TRUST IN THE LORD?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him, and He
will make your paths straight.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

MEDITATION:
How much do we understand about God’s will? Do we have the
capacity to understand His will in all things? Of course not; He
is God and we are not. We can see the value of the proverb
telling us to NOT depend on our own understanding.

We might think that if we had a better understanding of
His will, then we would be able to submit to Him easier.
But, if that were true, then we could expect God to give
us a comprehensive understanding of His will.

Before it gets too confusing, think about this:
    more than likely an increase of our understanding
    would result in a decrease of our faith and trust in Him.
A reduction of our faith and trust is never a good thing.

Additionally, if we understood as much as God does, then we
might no longer feel the need for Him. We could develop a
kind of pride (which God hates), and think that we are on a
par (instead of subordinate) level with God.

Doesn’t it just make sense that a lack of understanding
of God’s ways will strengthen our faith and trust in Him?
Whenever we rely on our own understanding, we will devise
ways of justifying the sins we commit when we exceed the
boundaries He has established for us to live an enjoyable
life (which includes having a closer relationship with Him).

God wants us to fully enjoy our faith and trust in Him.
We must have complete confidence in God to take care
of us. Full confidence will help us in our efforts to be
more constant in complying with His will.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us we are to trust Him with ALL our
heart (not just part of it), and we’re to submit to Him in
ALL our ways (not just some of them). God doesn’t want
a half-hearted, partial faith and trust.

We can’t say,
    “Lord, I want Your will in my social life,
      but I don’t want Your will in my business life.”
Or,
    “I want Your will in my church life,
     but I don’t want Your will in my relationships.”

We just can’t do that. If He is worth part of anything,
then He’s worth all of everything.

ACTION:
In what areas of your life are you excluding God’s presence?
Do you still have guilt for excluding Him, or have you
allowed Satan to desensitize your feelings of guilt? How
can you know?

Have you started justifying the things you do or say that
are contrary to His will? Have you developed the ability
(or habit) of switching His presence “on and off” in your life?

We all struggle with paths we have created for ourselves.
Sometimes our own paths have too many options.
Sometimes our own paths are too wide and we
struggle with detecting their boundaries.

God tells us that when we trust Him over our own
understanding, He will improve our paths for us.
He will narrow our paths so that we won’t wander
around, and He will give us well-defined boundaries
which will reduce any confusion of what is right and
wrong.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for being the God I can trust in
all things. Thank You for reminding me of the dangers of leaning
on my own understanding. Thank You for Your promise to reduce
confusion in my life when I have faith and fully trust in You and
Your ways. Forgive me if I have become a victim of my own
understanding and have attempted to redefine Your boundaries
and guidelines for living a more enjoyable and less confusing life.
You are my God and I want to give You the fullness of my faith
and trust.”

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