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TRUST IN THE LORD

PROVERBS 3:5-6

Sometimes we think that the easiest way, the obvious way, is God's way. And we thus base our decisions on how things are working out, if it is easy an flowing, then it must be of God and we go through that door of opportunity or go forward with the idea. If it is difficult and it seems that we are encountering road blocks wherever we turn, we feel it is not of God and thus we put a halt to our plan.

You may remember the story of Paul on his second missionary journey as he traveled through the area of Phrygia and the region of Galatia, how the Holy Spirit forbid them to preach in Asia. How the Holy Spirit did this we are not sure, but they knew what not to do. So they went north trying to go to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit once again stopped them. And as they were in Troas God gave Paul a vision of a man in Macedonia who needed help, and so they immediately headed westward to Macedonia to preach the Gospel to them there. (Acts 16).

And as you read that story you get the idea that God was putting up these road blocks to let Paul know not to continue in that direction, that this door of opportunity was closed for now. And that was the case. But we must also remember that the enemy is a deceiver and what may seem obvious, what may seem like road blocks set up by God, may not be the case. Paul said in his letter to the Thessalonians "Therefore we wanted to come to you; even I, Paul, time and again; but Satan hindered us." I Thessalonians 2:18.

Now just as we can be fooled by road blocks that Satan uses to hinder us in moving forward, he can also use just the opposite to trick us. Sometimes it looks so good and so obvious we just forge ahead, later to find out it was not of God.

A good example of this is seen with Joshua's encounter with the Gibeonites. You see, before the children of Israel even entered the land God instructed them by saying in Deuteronomy 7:2 "and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them." And the reason God instructed them to destroy the people completely, to wipe them out, is found in Deuteronomy 20:16-18. We read "But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you, lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God."

You see, God was trying to protect His people from falling into their sinful ways. He wanted His people to be pure. Now God did make a provision for anyone who turned to God, those who repented of their evil ways, to be spared death. We see that with Rahab the harlot who lived in Jericho. (Deuteronomy 20:10-11, Joshua 2, 6). God's mercy was extended to all those who repented but He would not make a unholy alliance with anyone!

As the children of Israel entered the land, stories began to spread about how no nation could stand before them. Jericho fell. Ai fell. From a mighty power like Jericho to even the small and seemingly insignificant could not stand a chance against Israel. And now these other nations, these other people; the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, Hivite, and the Jebusite gathered their forces together to fight against Israel, feeling that if they all could fight together in unity, they would be able to at least stand a chance to win against them. It was their only hope! But the Gibeonites, also called Hivites, rightfully understood that no nation, no matter how big, would be able to stand against Israel and win, it didn't matter how many nations stood together in battle.

As I have said, the travelers from Gibeon were called Hivites, (Joshua 11:19) and the word "Hivite" means serpent and their plan was truly a lie from the devil. You see, the old adage "Better red than dead!" is what they believed in and used to spare their lives. And their plan was thoroughly thought through and it was great.

They pretended to send ambassadors to Joshua looking as if they had traveled a long distance. They had old sacks on their donkeys, had worn an torn wine skins, old and patched sandals, old garments, and their food, their bread was dry and moldy.

And as they came before Joshua and the people of Israel, Joshua asked them "Who are you, and where do you come from?" And they must have rehearsed their plan very well, for they explained with ease that they had traveled from a very far country to see the people whom God had given great victory to by bringing them out of Egypt and defeating Sihon king of Hesbon and Og king of Bashan who were on the east side of the Jordan River.

Now that was old news, why did the Gibeonites not speak of Joshua's victory at Jericho and Ai? Because that was new news and they did not have satellite communication in those days. Thus, if they would have spoken of those recent victories they would have given themselves up, for that kind of news could not have traveled to the far country as yet, but only the surrounding nations.

Now the Gibeonites said "Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, "We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us."' This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey." Joshua 9:11-13.

You see, they were trying to escape the judgment of God, and they knew they could not win in battle, so they tried deception. Joshua was to wipe out the inhabitants of Canaan, but these people were supposedly not from this area.

And as Israel heard their report, as they examined the evidence that was before them, they must have thought that this was a no brainier. It is so obvious that they traveled a long distance, the evidence points to it, the old garments, the old food, the old wine skins and-so-on. These people were speaking the truth, or so they thought!

Because of all of that, Joshua is convinced and makes a covenant with them, to let them live and has the rulers of Israel swear to keep this covenant from generation to generation. And everyone was happy until 3 days pass by and Joshua and the children of Israel find out that these guys were not telling the truth. They lied about were they came from. They didn't come from a far land, but they were neighbors, they were the enemy that they were to destroy not make a covenant with!

Now, because of the covenant that was made, Joshua could not destroy them but instead made them wood cutters and water carriers in the house of God, the tabernacle. They would bring in the wood for the sacrifice and the water to wash for purification.

Now how in the world could something like that happen to a man like Joshua? How could he be so deceived? Simple, he walked by sight instead of by faith. We are told in Joshua 9:14 that "...they did not ask counsel of the LORD." That can be literally translated that "...they did not inquire at the mouth of the LORD."

You see, something may look so right, it is so obvious that it is the right thing to do, that we can be deceived. Now I know that is a long introduction into the portion of Scripture that we are going to be dealing with this morning, but it is important to lay this foundation so we can learn how we are to walk, when to take those steps of faith no matter how good or bad the situation may look.

So if you would, please turn to Proverbs chapter 3, and lets look at verses 5-6.

PROVERBS 3:5-6

"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."

As you read through these verses you see a cause and effect relationship. If you trust in the Lord THEN He will direct your paths. But how is that done? I see 3 areas that must be in alignment for us to be heading down the right path, the path that God has set before us. And I think we all want to know where to walk, what to do. If you are outlining this, you can put these 3 areas under the heading called DIRECTED BY GOD. They are: THE HEART, THE WORD OF GOD, and CIRCUMSTANCES. And so lets look at these a little closer.

1. DIRECTED BY GOD

A. THE HEART PROVERBS 3:5a

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart"

Solomon is telling us to trust the Lord with our inner most being. The word "trust" (BATACH in the Hebrew) speaks of attaching oneself to, finding safety and comfort. It is feeling relaxed because we know that God is in control. When you place your hope and confidence in the Lord it is because you know Him, and because you know Him, His character, you can trust Him.

Imagine if you were bunjee jumping and you asked me to tie the cord off before you jumped 200 feet off this platform. If you knew me you would never ask me to tie off this rope. But if you didn't know me, if you didn't believe I could tie this cord off safely, then you could in no way trust me to do this task. You would more than likely be checking it over and over to make sure I did it right before you took that leap of faith. And for those that don't know God they have a hard time placing their trust in Him, they lack the faith of knowing God's love for them.

In Proverbs 28:26 we read "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered." How many today find it easier to put their trust in themselves or someone or something other than God? We can not trust our own heart because it is wicked. Thus, we are to trust in the Lord and in doing so we will be wise, we will be delivered from the situation we are in. When we do, it is like the Psalmist said in Psalm 33:21, "For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name."

B. THE WORD OF GODPROVERBS 3:5b

"And lean not on your own understanding"

The word for "lean", (SHAAN in the Hebrew) speaks of supporting oneself, resting upon, or placing confidence in someone or something. But Solomon is putting this in the negative, telling us that we are not to rest or place our confidence in our own intelligence. Why? Because we don't always see things as they are. God knows the beginning from the end, He is all-knowing, and we are not.

And we truly are blessed to have God's Word to give us wisdom, to assist us in making decisions in life. We don't have to rest upon our own intelligence but His working through us according to His Word. It is as we read in Jeremiah 9:23-24, "Thus says the LORD: 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,' says the LORD."

You see, God does direct us, He wants us to know Him and He does this by His Word. In Psalm 119:105 we read "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." God's Word lights our way, it helps us to see as we travel through this dark world. In Psalm 119:133 we read "Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me." Again, God directs our steps as we read and apply His Word to our lives, allowing His Spirit to flow through us and guide us.

So far we have seen that we are to fully rest our lives upon the Lord and not upon ourselves, trying to support ourselves by using our own intelligence, but by using the wisdom that God has given to us through His Word. That leads us to the third area we will be looking at this morning.

C. CIRCUMSTANCES PROVERBS 3:6a

"In all your ways acknowledge Him"

As we go through life we are on a journey, and that is the idea behind the word "ways" (DEREKH in the Hebrew). It speaks of going on a walk, taking a journey, it speaks of the roads we travel on through life.

Thus, as we travel through life we must acknowledge the Lord, look to Him. The word "acknowledge" (YADHA in the Hebrew) speaks of being able to acquire knowledge, to be able to discern the various situations that you are in and what you should do when you are in them.

You see, life's circumstances can be very difficult and they could cause us to take our eyes off the Lord. In doing that we loose the perspective of the situation and we can let life's circumstances overwhelm us instead of allowing the peace of God to flow through our lives.

Remember the story of Elisha and his servant as they slept in the city of Dothan. Syria was making war against Israel and every time a battle plan was made out, Israel knew the way the attack was coming. Because of that the king of Syria thought that there was a spy in the camp, but one of his servants said to him "...'None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.'" II Kings 6:12.

Because of that the king of Syria sends his men to surround the city of Dothan, where Elisha was living. And as morning came Elisha's servant woke up and went out of the place they were living, and his heart fell to the ground. He saw the city surrounded by the Syrian army and he knew there was no way out of it. And this servant, understanding the situation he and Elisha were in, those circumstances overwhelmed him and he ran and told Elisha the devastating news. And we read "...'Alas, my master! What shall we do?'" II Kings 6:15.

Now Elisha, being very calm turns and says to his servant, "...'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'" II Kings 6:16. Now I don't know how much that comforted this servant, but Elisha saw something that his servant didn't see that gave him a peace during this calamity. He saw the mountains full of the angels of God ready to protect Elisha.

You see, he had a proper perspective of the situation he was in because he had an intimate relationship with the Lord. When we understand that God loves us, He is on our side, that He is in control of our lives, then why are we in fear? We shouldn't be. It is as Paul said in Romans 8:31 "...If God is for us, who can be against us?"

2. THE RESULTS PROVERBS 3:6b

"And He shall direct your paths"

If we trust in the Lord with our whole being. If we don't rely on human wisdom to get through life. If we allow God's Word to be a light to us. If we have that close intimate relationship with the Lord, then He will direct our paths. He wants to direct our paths! The word used for "paths" (YASHAR in the Hebrew) speaks of making them level, straight, right, in other words God wants to take the paths we are traveling down and smooth them out. I like that!

Did you notice the cause and effect we have seen in this relationship with the Lord? It doesn't say He will think about directing our paths, or if He is not too busy He will direct our paths. It says that He SHALL direct our paths!

I like the way the Amplified Bible translates Proverbs 3:5-6. Listen to what it says:

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths."

I am so thankful that God loves me that much, and He is concerned about the path I am traveling upon, so much so that He wants to direct me so that I won't travel down the wrong road, a road that leads to a dead end, is unfruitful, that will bring me harm. Yes the paths the Lord sends us down are not always easy, but they are what is best for our life, and if we will trust in Him, acknowledge Him, He will direct our steps!

I don't think that there are any coincidences in the Bible or in life. I think that, in fact I know that God is in control of everything. Nothing escapes his vision or His awareness. Let me ask you this, do you know what the middle verse in the entire Bible is? It is found in Psalm 118 verse 8 and it reads "It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man." Is that awesome or what! Do you see how important placing our trust in the Lord is? We need to place our entire weight upon Him, for He can handle it. That truly needs to be at the center of our life, the center of our relationship with the Lord, TRUSTING HIM!

It is amazing to me, but there are people out there who think we are to codependent upon Jesus. They think we are trusting to much in Him. Folks, I don't want to be codependent upon Jesus, I want to be totally dependent upon Him. That is what I am striving for in my life. That I would trust less in self and more in God. As John the baptist said about Jesus in his own life, that "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30.

Let me leave you this morning with this true story:

PUTTING DOWN WHOLE WEIGHT

To celebrate an old man's seventy-fifth birthday, an aviation enthusiast offered to take him for a plane ride over the little West Virginia town where he spent all his life. The old man accepted the offer. Back on the ground, after circling over the town twenty minutes, his friend asked, "Were you scared, Uncle Dudley?" "No-o-o," was the hesitant answer. "But I never did put my full weight down."

Many of us live our Christian lives never fully resting upon Jesus, resting in His wonderful and comforting arms. Trust the Lord and to trust Him you must know Him. Spend time getting to know the Lord and you will find out that you will be able to trust Him!