Word of Salvation – Vol.39 No.10 – March 1994

 

Trust In The Lord

 

Sermon: by Rev J. Haverland on Proverbs 3:5-6

Readings: 1 Chronicles 28:1-10, 20-21; Proverbs 3:1-6

Hymns/Psalms:

‘Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah’

‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’

 

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Each Sunday we come together to worship God and to receive help and encouragement from His word.  We do that because we are conscious of our need for guidance in our lives.  In a world of confusion and turmoil we need the light and clarity that comes from God.  Each Sunday again we turn to Him because we want to live wisely, profitably, fruitfully.

In looking for this wisdom and direction there is no better place to turn to than the book of Proverbs.  Here is wisdom to live by.

The verses we will consider today are among the most well-known and best-loved in this book.  They are frequently quoted and often memorised.

Their central message is a call to Trust in the Lord.

To trust someone or something is to be able to rely on them, depend on them.  Sometimes we trust other people, but they let us down.  We count on them to do something, or to be someone, but they fail us.  We are disappointed.

The Bible, however, doesn’t focus our trust in people, but in the Lord.  Trust in the Lord.  We are urged to do that in three areas: We must trust Him Entirely, Exclusively and Exhaustively.  Today we want to consider these three points.

1.  First, we are urged to trust Him Entirely.

Trust in the Lord ‘with all your heart’.

The ‘heart’ in biblical language is the source of our thoughts and feelings and will.  To trust the Lord with all our heart is to trust him entirely, with everything in us, with all we have, wholeheartedly.

This is really the thrust of Jesus summary of the Law: That we love God with all we have, everything in us.

There are some outstanding examples of this in the Bible.

There is Caleb, who was one of the spies who brought back a good report about Canaan.  He was commended because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.  (Numbers 14:24).

When David handed over the crown he urged his son Solomon to have this attitude:

‘And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion, and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.’ (1 Chronicles 28:9).

And take the example of Hezekiah, who prayed to God: ‘Remember, O Lord, how I walked before you faithfully, and with wholehearted devotion.’ (Isaiah 38:3).

I wonder if you could say that?  As you look back over your life can you say that you have served God with wholehearted devotion?

Will you resolve to do this for the future?  To trust in the Lord, with all your heart, entirely?

2.  Secondly, we are urged to trust the Lord exclusively.

‘and lean not on your own understanding’.

Our natural inclination is to do just this: to lean on our own understanding.  This was the sin of Adam and Eve.  They knew better than God; they trusted their own judgement; they depended on their own insight.

Ever since then we have been inclined to do the same: To depend on our knowledge; to be self-reliant; to go it alone; to work it out ourselves.  We would rather not have to trust the Lord – instead we would like to plan it all ourselves, to be able to have all our bases covered; to have everything in hand.

Yet to lean on our own understanding is like leaning on a rotten and broken railing on the edge of a cliff-face.

This is because our understanding is limited and finite.  Our grasp on reality is faulty and erroneous.  Our minds are sinful and warped.  It is foolish to trust our own understanding.

Not only is it foolish, it is also impossible.  We do not have absolute control of our lives.  We cannot dot all the ‘i’s and cross all the ‘t’s.  We cannot regulate all that goes on around us.

Rather than lean on our understanding we must lean exclusively on the Lord.  He does have control; He is in command; He can regulate all that goes on.

He is the Great Creator, the Lord, the King.  He has all understanding, is all-wise, is all-knowing.

We can rely on Him because He is reliable.  We can depend on Him because He is dependable.  We can have faith in Him because He is faithful.  We can trust Him because He is Trustworthy.

Trust Him entirely.

Trust Him exclusively.

3.  And thirdly, Trust Him Exhaustively.

Earlier in the service we sang a hymn that reminded us that we are pilgrims in this world.  We are on a journey.  We are travellers.  In that hymn we prayed that God would guide us.  ‘Guide me O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land.’ These verses of Proverbs urge us to seek this guidance.

‘In all your ways acknowledge Him.’ ‘Ways’ here refers to the course of our life, the direction we are going in.  It includes all the decisions we make and the paths we follow.

And to ‘acknowledge’ God is to be mindful of Him and to seek His will.  It is to recognise His claims, acknowledge His authority; submit to His rule.

‘In all your ways acknowledge Him’ means that we must submit to Him in everything; in all we do; exhaustively.

Again we should reflect on our lives: Do we acknowledge God in everything?  In all our ways?  Do we consult Him on every decision that we make?  Do we ask Him to guide us at each turn of the way?  Do we recognise His claim on every aspect of our lives?

No, we don’t.

Yes, we acknowledge Him in some things.  We seek Him in some areas.  Like on Sunday, which is His day, and to some extent on Monday, when the services are still fresh in our minds.

But we have to confess that we do not acknowledge Him in all our ways.  We trust Him partially, not completely.  In fragments of our lives, not exhaustively.

Solomon here urges us to trust Him, to acknowledge Him, in all we do.  Not just today, but through the whole of this week.  Not just in ‘spiritual activities, but in our business, our sport, our recreation.

Let’s resolve today to acknowledge Him in our marriage, our home, our work; in our friendships, our investments, our future.

Trust in the Lord entirely, exclusively, exhaustively….and He will make your paths straight.’

This is God’s promise.  But let’s be clear about what God is promising here.

He is not promising that life will be a breeze from here on.  The disciple of Christ must count the cost; following Jesus may involve self-denial and cross-bearing.  God is not promising that there will be no pain, no hiccups, no trials.  He is not saying we will be freed of sickness and suffering.

No, He is promising us a straight path.  He promises us the narrow way that leads to eternal life.

This path is described in the Bible.  In this book God directs us to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He urges us to fix our eyes on Him who is the Author and Perfector of our faith.

This is the path of wisdom – following Jesus, the Wise One, the Wonderful Counsellor, the fulfilment of the wisdom of the Proverbs.

It is a path walked in the footsteps of Jesus, with our eye on Him, with His spirit to guide and lead us.

When God promises to make our paths straight, He promises us a life lived in the truth, a heart filled with joy, a future full of hope.

Our trust in God must be entire: With all your heart.  It must be exclusive: lean not on your own understanding.  It must be exhaustive: In all your ways acknowledge Him.  When we do these things we are given this assurance: ‘And He will make your paths straight.’

This promise of the leading and guiding of our Great Shepherd is also given in another well-known part of the Bible:

‘The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures…  (Read rest the of Psalm 23…)

AMEN

We will respond by singing the words of this Psalm, Psalm 23.