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Devotional, subscribe today in touch with Dr Charles Stanley, reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ through sound biblical teaching next on in touch, the faith to follow.
It’s an act of God’s grace that he has chosen a plan for your life and mind, wonderful grace of God that he has chosen a plan and is willing to show us what that plan is.
So we don’t have to go through life wondering is my life going to count?
What am I doing with myself? What others think?
And all of that God in His awesome grace has a plan and a purpose for your life.
And therefore He has a pathway for you to walk.
Because if he has a plan, there’s a path, most people are gonna live out their life.
Never even thinking the fact that God has a will form or a plan for them and they’ll live it all out and come maybe toward the end of their life or maybe a few years before that and look back and think, what was all that about?
What did I miss? Where was God in all of this.
And I can tell you, God knew from the very beginning, His plan and purpose and will for your life, the sooner you discover what that pathway is, you get on his path than the sooner and the better and the happier and the most peaceful and more prosperous, you’re gonna be in your life no matter what’s going on.
But you have to believe that you have to believe that God loves you enough to have a plan.
He loves you enough to get you into the plan. He has a pathway. That’s the best path.
God doesn’t have any second rate path. He has the best path for you. If you’re willing to follow it.
One of the most familiar verses in the Bible or passages is in Proverbs chapter three.
And I want us to read these first eight verses and verse 56 and eight. We’ll deal with those primarily.
But look, if you will, beginning in verse one of Proverbs chapter three, he says, my son do not forget my teaching, what a wonderful way to begin.
But let your heart keep my commandments for length of days and years of life and peace, they will add to you.
So how you live makes a difference.
Do not let kindness and truth leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you’ll find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.
And now listen to this, you should memorize this.
Watch, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding in all your ways, acknowledge him and he will do what he, he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Now, here’s God’s command to us.
It’s one thing for Him to guide me, to be willing to guide me one thing for me to listen.
But am I willing, am I willing and truly truly willing to follow that?
That is my willing to trust him.
Watch this if you don’t obey Goddess because you don’t trust Him, whatever else you may say, you don’t trust him because he always chooses what’s right and what’s best for us.
And so if we believe that God is who He says He is, we’ll trust Him if I, if I don’t trust Him, if for example, if he says here’s what I want you to do, this is how I’ll do it.
He said, mm, you’re afraid. If you’re afraid, you’re not trusting Him. If you rebel, you’re not trusting Him.
If there’s something about what he commands you do, and you said, no, you don’t trust him.
You don’t trust him to be the God. He says he is.
So with that in mind, I want us to think about this passage of scripture.
And that is that God commands us to trust him, listen to what he says, trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Now, to trust somebody is, is to have a strong belief in their integrity, their ability and their character.
If I really fully trust them, all three of those things are gonna be involved.
And so he says, here, trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Now, if I trust somebody, I have confidence in them, I believe what they say in other words, what I’m saying is I have confidence in you as a person.
Therefore, I will do this. And so I have confidence in you God that if you’re leading me to do this or to say this, then I’m going to trust you that you will work it out according to what your plan is.
You said you plan their life, you give us guidance and direction which I listen to.
Here’s what I believe you’ve said.
Now, if I really am, truly believe you, I’m gonna trust you that whatever you require me is gonna turn out right now.
If there’s no, if there’s no trust, no confidence, I’m not gonna do it.
So think about this when a person lives a life of sin, whatever else you may say, they’re living a life in which they do not trust God.
And so the truth is if I don’t trust Him, nothing in my life is going to work out, right?
And the reason people are living the lives, they’re living outside of God’s will and purpose of their life.
They don’t trust Him if I trust him and this is almighty God, if I trust him, I’m gonna do what he says.
And so what you have to ask yourself is, are you one of those persons that trust him or are you one of those persons that you talk about it?
And you think about it, but deep down inside you don’t trust. So what’s the basis of this trust?
He said, listen, he says, trust in the Lord with all your heart, don’t lean to your own understanding.
So what’s the, what’s the basis of this? You listening, watch this, look this way for a moment.
The basis of all of that trust of God is his divine sovereignty, which means God rules over all things, all people at all times, the sovereignty of God.
If that is not true, then we have no assurance of anything.
If you don’t believe in the sovereignty of God, then you don’t believe the Bible.
This is the wisdom of God, the power of God, the righteousness of God all wrapped up in one.
His purpose is always perfect for you. His goal for you is perfect.
And the basis of my trust is, listen, watch this.
If I didn’t believe if I didn’t believe in the sovereignty of God, I could question his will about things.
But because He is sovereign, he knows everything about every situation, past present future, that no surprises to God.
And he has always chosen the best for us.
So therefore, because He absolutely rules in every circumstance of life and over all the circumstances of life, I can absolutely trust him in every single circumstance of life because they all fit into the fact that He is sovereign and in control of everything, what an awesome sense of confidence we can have because God is the sovereign God of the universe, not just of our life.
He’s in control of all things.
And you say, well, now wait a minute, if he’s in control of all things, why does he let this happen?
And that happened and ever happened?
The simplest example of that would be Joseph, for example, if God was sovereign, why’d he let his brothers threw him in a fit?
Why did he get sold into slavery? Why did he end up being falsely accused by part of his wife?
Why did he end up in prison?
I’ll tell you why because the sovereignty of God, God was equipping him to be next to Pharaoh and all of Egypt, the greatest nation on the earth at that point.
And so you and I can trust him in every single circumstance of life, no matter what it might be because He’s not only a sovereign.
God, listen. He is a, he is a loving, trustworthy sovereign. God He’s not just this being out yonder.
He is that he has personhood.
He’s a personal God, loving God, God of grace and love and mercy and kindness and has a pathway for each one of us to walk if we are wise enough to follow him.
So when he asked us to follow his path, we must believe that he’s chosen the right path.
He knows your abilities, talents, skills, and all the things that make up your life.
If I trust him, I trust him on the basis that he is the sovereign God of this universe.
Now, the third thing I want you to notice about this passage is this, watch this trust in the Lord with all your heart.
So what is the degree to which I’m too trusting, the degree to which I’m to trust him is with all my heart.
And not to lean on my understanding with all my heart, that means totally trust him about a few things.
But everything. Let me ask you a question. What is it in your life?
That’s the most difficult when you face the particular issue.
What’s the most difficult one you have to deal with when it comes to trusting people, have different things in their life, different situations and circumstances.
But you know that God’s trustworthy and he has a plan for your life.
And if you listen to him, he’ll show you what to do.
He will always show you the right thing to do every single time.
The Bible, listen to say that everything will be simple and playing.
But the Bible says that God will guide us in the right way if we’ll trust him.
So I don’t always have to agree with other people. I may see things in the scripture that I think.
Well, Lord, I don’t know exactly how to explain that. I understand that.
But if I believe the word of God, I’m gonna trust Him.
So when you think in your own personal life, what area is it in your life that you when it comes to trusting Him for that, you just say God, I know I’m saved and I know this, I know that I know that but to ask me to do less and so, no.
Is God trustworthy? Yes, he is. Can I put my confidence in Him? Yes.
And how many things in every single thing you’re trying to find the will of God about your job or about the person you’re gonna marry or whatever it might be, you can trust Him in every single circumstances.
And he says, trust the Lord with all your heart don’t lean onto your understanding because watch this.
Our understanding is limited. I can’t see beyond right now, the walls of this room.
God can see all the way to the other end of the earth.
There’s some things we don’t understand, but I’m to trust him. Watch this. I’m watch this.
I’m to trust him even when I may not agree with something.
And somebody says, well, if you trust him, won’t you always agree?
I think the Lord’s allowed things in my life to happen.
Then I thought Lord now, wait a minute, I’m trusting you, but this stings, this hurts this pain.
And so at times we get tested, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding in all your ways, acknowledge Him and he will make your path straight.
So when he says in all your ways, what does that mean in every single aspect of her life with a trusted?
And what he’s asking is not only to trust Him, but in all your ways, acknowledge him.
That is to acknowledge somebody is to recognize Him, to acknowledge God is not only to recognize Him, but to recognize Him as God, as Lord, as master, as the one who has the right to give direction for our life and, and the Lord who has the authority to send blessing upon us when he chooses to do so.
So ask yourself the question, is there one single area in your life that you’re sort of holding back on in all your ways?
Trust Him in all your ways, acknowledge Him.
You say, well, I have, but there’s just this one thing and I think it’s that one thing in many people’s lives that that absolutely causes them more pain than they could ever possibly realize total surrender.
Absolute surrender. Complete surrender means I must trust him completely. I must trust him. Absolutely.
Because we’re limited in acknowledging our understanding, we can’t see the future and we don’t do very well looking at the past.
And so in all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.
Now, what does he mean by making your path straight?
I will protect you from the side roads in life.
I’ll protect you from those areas that you think are a part of the trip.
They’re not a part of the trip.
And so he says, in all of our ways to were to acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.
That is he will eliminate a lot of obstacles, eliminate a lot of confusion, eliminate a lot of wear and tear on your life.
And I think about people who are not saved and they live till they get about 60 or somewhere thereabouts and they get saved.
Look at the wear and tear on your life.
Look what you’ve missed when he says, I’ll make your way straight.
That doesn’t mean that listen straight doesn’t always mean easy, but straight is the best way in all your ways.
Acknowledge him. He’ll make your path straight. So I would ask you a question.
Would you, would you say that you’re walking a straight path as somebody would say?
Well, do you mean that I don’t do this and don’t do that? No?
No, no, no, I’m just talking about this.
Are you trusting God each day for your life to lead you to guide you?
And as best you know, your heart you’re doing what God wants you to do doesn’t mean you’ll be perfect.
You may give out a gas somewhere in that trip and uh you may realize Lord I missed something here.
But would you say that you’re walking a straight path for God that in all your ways as best, you know how you’re trying to be obedient to God.
He says, watch this in all your ways. He says, acknowledge him that is recognized Him, listen to him.
He’ll make your path straight. He will save you from all the wear and tear and the rumbling ran over here and over there and spending years and years of your life and you finally decide to yield yourself to God.
And that’s where a lot of people are.
And I can still remember where I was standing on the steps when I told my first friend that yesterday I got saved.
I still remember what he said. Well, I’m not gonna do that now, I’m gonna do that later.
Ended up in prison.
He had the same privilege that I had, but he chose to take another path.
That’s where I led him.
There’s a lot of people who are hurting today because they decided I’m not going that path.
I’ll choose my own path, what they’re saying. Is watch this. I really believe that I’m smarter than God.
I really believe that the path that I’ve chosen will bring me more happiness, more joy and more peace and especially more prosperity.
So I’m taking this path. Everything that looks golden is not golden, everything that looks straight is not straight.
It may be straight for a few feet.
But after that, you’re off the path in all your ways, acknowledge him.
He says, and he will direct your path. Now, there’s a warning here. I want you to notice.
He says, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
I want you to turn if you will to proverbs, Proverbs 26.
And I want you to look at this verse Here’s the warning.
Proverbs 26 verse 12. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
And here’s what God says, when we choose our way, that is not God’s way.
We are playing the fool. You know, people in your life who have done that and who are doing it, deciding they’re gonna have it their way no matter what, never thinking about God’s way, God’s will and God’s power and never thinking about a judgment day because no matter how life treats you, ultimately, every single one of us are gonna come to that point in life when we meet the living God before whom we’ve lived all these years And when I think about so many people who live their life that way, he says, do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
That’s what a wise man, a woman does.
They seek the Lord, they listen to God, listen, not only do they realize that God will lead them and they listen to him and they trust him.
It’s the trust level. Do you trust Him to be to you? What? He promises to be God?
The Bible says it, but we know it, God cannot lie. Whatever God says is true, is true.
And so at some point in our life, we’re all going to give an account.
And therefore, when he says, fear the Lord and turn away from evil to fear Him means to honor Him as the living God and to obey Him, to recognize who He is and to acknowledge that He’s the God of this universe, but he’s the God of your life and mind.
So I would simply ask you this question.
We have the promise that He’ll got us. Are you listening?
I’ll tell you whether you’re listening or not or you’re trusting Him. You may agree with it all.
But are you trusting Him for your life personally as best you know your heart?
Are you trying to walk in the ways that God has required of you every single day?
You and I make decisions were forced to make decisions and we choose to make decisions and those decisions are gonna be based on whether we believe there’s a God or not, whether we believe that he has a plan and a path for our life, whether we believe that he’s chosen the best path and he has and whether we are willing to listen to him and willing to trust him in all thy ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path and listen.
He says, fear the Lord that’s honor Him, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones, which is what he’s saying is this, it’s healthy to live in obedience to God.
It’s healthy. There’s gonna be a happiness and health and a joy and a peace.
When you live in the pathway that God has laid out for you, it may not be your choice of a path.
But if it’s God’s choice, you’re gonna succeed in what you’re doing.
If it’s God’s choice, there’s gonna be an underlying sense of peace and assurance and confidence, a sense of satisfaction.
When you do it his way, it will be healing to your body.
And he said refreshment to your bones. So let’s simply ask you a question.
Are you listening to him?
But do you trust Him when you come Sunday after Sunday? You listen.
But do you trust Him? If I fully trust him?
I have confidence in Him that his decisions about my life are the best decisions, the wisest decisions, the most profitable decisions, the most freeing decisions and the happiest decisions.
If I trust him, amen.
Father, how grateful we are that you made your plan so simple, listen to you, trust you and then obey you.
And I pray this morning that somebody here, it was never trusted you as their savior will realize they’ve chosen the wrong path.
You’re not gonna force them to get off that path onto yours.
But you invite them to make that change.
You invite them to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
And in so doing, you place their feet on the right path and then you’re willing to walk with them, run with them, whatever it may be all the days of their life.
And you said it’ll be like health to their life and strength like refreshment to their bones.
Things are always better when we walk on your pathway and I trusted that person, whoever he or she may be that today though.
They may have heard many sermons today.
They take this moment to say Lord Jesus, I’m listening.
I do believe that you died on the cross for my sins.
And today I confess that I’m a sinner and I also confess the beginning right now, I’m confessing you as my savior and my Lord based on what you did at the cross.
And I receive your gift of salvation this day.
In this moment, I trust you, dear father.
Thank you Lord, that you’ve never turned anybody down who came to you.
You’re willing to put every person on the right pathway who’s willing to listen.
Let us not be one of those that you call a fool, but one whom you call wise is my prayer in jesus’ name.
Amen. Mhm.