24.217 | HE WILL MAKE OUR PATHS STRAIGHT | Proverbs 3:5-8 | God’s Word for Today with Pastor Nazario Sinon

God’s Word For Today

Text: Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

8 It will be healing to your flesh

and refreshment to your bones.

HE WILL MAKE OUR PATHS STRAIGHT

In our journey of life, we need to know the right goals, as well as the right paths in achieving them. It is an empirical fact that the straight line is the shortest distance between two points. Going through winding roads with a lot of detours does incur waste of time and energy, does it not? We do need God’s guidance or wisdom in pursuing our goals, don’t we?

There are three important reminders. Firstly, we must trust the Lord with all our hearts. The Lord sees the big picture and He always knows what is best for us. Take for example the life of Abraham. Abraham could not see how everything would work out for the best when the Lord commanded him to slay his son Isaac on Mount Moriah (Gen 22:1–2), but he trusted in the Lord with all his heart. The Lord had promised Abraham that He would establish His covenant with Isaac and his descendants (Gen 17:19) The Lord did not disappoint Abraham's wholehearted trust, nor will He disappoint us if we trust Him with all our heart.

Secondly, we should not depend on our own understanding. We need to recognize our own limitations. This does not mean that planning is not needed. We should not be mindless and naíve. We express our plans before God but don’t carve them on stone. Undoubtedly, the apostle Paul was determined to proceed to go to Galatia. However, he changed when the Lord directed him to go to Macedonia. God leads us a step at a time.

Thirdly, we should acknowledge Him in all our ways. Whether we are buying a house or looking for a spouse, choosing a vocation or planning a vacation, in all our ways we should acknowledge the Lord. The apostle James admonishes us to consult the Lord's will when we need to plan our days (Jas 4:13–15). We are to move forward only if ‘the Lord wills’. One notable example is Abraham’s servant. he who was on a mission to find a suitable bride for Abraham's son Isaac. The servant went to Nahor, a city in Mesopotamia, and rested his camels beside a spring of water when the women of the city approached to draw water. He prayed to the Lord for success in finding the right woman for Isaac (Gen 24:12–14). The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebekah would soon become Isaac's bride. At the hindsight, he said, “As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen" (Gen 24:27b).

There is an important reminder of watching not to be wise in our own eyes. Pride comes before a fall. This same warning is given repeatedly in Proverbs. “He that trusts in his own heart is a fool” (Prov 28:26). Isaiah wrote, “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes” (Prov 5:21); and the same precept was advocated by Paul, “Be not wise in your own conceits” (Rom 12:16). Resultingly, good health and refreshing are the normal results of a good relationship with the Lord.

Other translations to v 8, says, “it will be health to thy navel.’ The meaning of this is that, “Just as the umbilical cord (of which the navel is a part) is the only source of life and growth for the unborn child, so also that wisdom that comes from God is the only source of life and growth for God’s servant.”[from Adam Clarke Commentary] Indeed, God is indispensable in our lives, is he not?

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