Post by Cindy on Dec 20, 2019 8:02:35 GMT -5
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.” (Proverbs 3:5–7)
If there are any areas of disobedience or rebellion in our hearts, God will not guide us. But if we are yielded wholly to Him, then He has promised to direct our steps. But there is a warning attached: “Lean not unto thine own understanding.” When God warns us not to “lean” on our own understanding, He is not suggesting that we stop using our brains. Many people have the strange idea that God’s guidance is given to us by means of feelings or voices or magical circumstances; but such is not the case. God communicates His truth to us in our minds, through the Word of God. When God guides us, He does not bypass the mind; He uses it.
The warning here is that we not depend on our own natural reasoning. Isaiah the prophet reminds us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways. It is foolish to think that the natural mind can compete with the mind of God! To lean on your own understanding means to depend on your own experience, your own thinking, and not to submit it to the will of God. As we read our Bibles and pray, we will discover the Spirit of God renewing our minds and enabling us to think God’s thoughts. God communicates with us in our minds through His Word. We should lean on His divine revelation, not on our natural intelligence. God puts no premium on ignorance, but neither does He depend on our IQ.
There are two conditions we must meet if God is going to guide us: trust and obey. True faith always leads to obeying God’s will. Obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge. We don’t understand God’s will and then obey it; we obey God’s will and then He gives us the understanding. If we obey God in the things He has revealed to us, then we can be sure of His direction in the things He hasn't yet revealed to us. If we'll do the next thing He tells us to do, then He will reveal more of His will in the days to come. God doesn't reveal His will all at once; He reveals it a step at a time, a day at a time. God uses the Word & prayer to speak to us. If we do something that can't be used to acknowledge and honor God, then we're out of His will.
Wiersbe, The bumps are what you climb on.
If there are any areas of disobedience or rebellion in our hearts, God will not guide us. But if we are yielded wholly to Him, then He has promised to direct our steps. But there is a warning attached: “Lean not unto thine own understanding.” When God warns us not to “lean” on our own understanding, He is not suggesting that we stop using our brains. Many people have the strange idea that God’s guidance is given to us by means of feelings or voices or magical circumstances; but such is not the case. God communicates His truth to us in our minds, through the Word of God. When God guides us, He does not bypass the mind; He uses it.
The warning here is that we not depend on our own natural reasoning. Isaiah the prophet reminds us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways. It is foolish to think that the natural mind can compete with the mind of God! To lean on your own understanding means to depend on your own experience, your own thinking, and not to submit it to the will of God. As we read our Bibles and pray, we will discover the Spirit of God renewing our minds and enabling us to think God’s thoughts. God communicates with us in our minds through His Word. We should lean on His divine revelation, not on our natural intelligence. God puts no premium on ignorance, but neither does He depend on our IQ.
There are two conditions we must meet if God is going to guide us: trust and obey. True faith always leads to obeying God’s will. Obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge. We don’t understand God’s will and then obey it; we obey God’s will and then He gives us the understanding. If we obey God in the things He has revealed to us, then we can be sure of His direction in the things He hasn't yet revealed to us. If we'll do the next thing He tells us to do, then He will reveal more of His will in the days to come. God doesn't reveal His will all at once; He reveals it a step at a time, a day at a time. God uses the Word & prayer to speak to us. If we do something that can't be used to acknowledge and honor God, then we're out of His will.
Wiersbe, The bumps are what you climb on.
!!
