“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
Have you, like me, ever had to recognize how strong your human nature is?
I have recently learned that despite all logic, all factual evidence, despite virtually anything you can imagine, humans overwhelmingly BELIEVE the first thing they are told about something, ANYTHING. I know, like me, you probably are thinking “well, not me.” Well, yes me. Maybe you, sometimes, maybe?
This is key when taking an internal audit of what you believe, sometimes versus what is true. By “true” I mean what is aligned with what God says, period.
Well, having said this, when I was a young Christian, almost fifty-years ago, the person who led me to Christ told me something and I believed him. I’m not blaming him, he didn’t do it with any malice, and he thought that he was helping me in my walk. Unfortunately he was dead wrong. Having said that, it was the first thing I’d had explained to me on the topic, and despite this verse from Proverbs I continued to believe the untruth.
See, this person who loved and cared for me had explained that the reason I was struggling with understanding how to know what God wanted of me in my decision making processes was (paraphrased): “You’re failing to recognize He gave you a brain to use when making these decisions. You don’t always need to consult Him, He has given you the ability to figure stuff out.” I then proceeded to read Proverbs 3:5 every month (reading all 31 chapters each month as any new believer should) and understand it in light of this guidance. Oh my!
It is a powerful testimony to God’s grace that I didn’t manage to mess up my life any more than I did. It was several years before the truth of this passage finally got through to me, but I sometimes still struggle to break the old habits of self-reliance.
Now, there may be some of you who think that my original understanding was correct, but let me ask you this: if I can rely on my own brain to sort out stuff, what about somebody of a lesser intellect? (I know my friends who read this will be happy to chime in that this would be a very small group, but please humor me here.) What about all those believers who are much smarter than me, do they simply not need to consult God? Wouldn’t this mean that God was only needed for guidance by those with less brain power? Would I need to rely on Him more when my intellect recedes? Is our need for God’s guidance relative?
I’m pretty sure none of those reading this would express the thought that anyone’s intellect or experience negates the need for God’s guidance. Yet, it is all too easy to lean on our understanding.
My prayer, and I hope you’d join me in it, is that I would lead an examined life as a follower of Christ. I pray that I would be willing and able to set aside those “first impressions” I may have that can keep me from experiencing the Truth of God and His Word to me. Easily prayed, a challenge to live out, but that is my prayer.