Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil (Proverbs 3:5-7).
It doesn’t matter if you are a young-in-the-faith Christian or someone that’s walked with the Lord for many years – one of the things that we all struggle with is relying on God to meet our needs. Its difficult during times of trouble to revert to the “old man” and come up with our own plans and schemes to solve our problems. Paul wrote that our spirit and flesh are in constant battle because they are fundamentally opposed – or spirit seeks the will of God while our flesh seeks its own survival and gratification (Galatians 5:17).
Solomon was a man that had been blessed with godly wisdom; as the author of the book of Proverbs, he addresses this very issue that both Christians and Jews have struggled with for generations. As Christians, we say that we believe in Jesus, the power of him to forgive our sins, and even sing “let me hide myself in Thee…” and other great songs of the faith that are acclamations of fully trusting in God, yet we often turn to God as a last resort when our trials and tribulations are about to overcome us and we see no other way out. What we should do, when we are faced with times of trouble, is to seek God’s guidance before we do anything else.
The next few entries to the Daily Walk will focus on the above passage and consider the reasons why, as Christians, we must allow God to be in control, we must resist the flesh when we are facing difficulty, and how through our trials and difficulties we can actually see our faith in God increased. The first installment of this series of posts is simply:
Why should I put my trust in God to solve my problems?
This is a question that although we may not ask directly, we do ask it through our actions. In my own life, when I have faced difficult decisions, problems, or even just the feelings of being alone, in stead of turning to God and allowing him to guide me through, I go into panic mode and try to rationalize a solution to the problem.
God knows the conclusion(s) to our problems before we realize we are at the beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8; Isaiah 46:10).
If there is ever a time we need to be reminded of this simple Bible truth it is when we are first aware that we are facing adversity. It is at this stage we panic and instead of asking God for guidance, we often utter the questions, “why me, God?” or “What’s next, God?” or any variety of similar questions. We fail to include God as part of our working solution, but instead, seek to blame him for letting us suffer. It is a test of our Christian character that many fail; even the apostle Peter had this difficulty – it was only when he was sinking did he cry out to the Lord to save him from difficulty (Matthew 14:30).
Jesus knew that Peter was going to sink; we know this because the book of Matthew records that Jesus was able to reach down and pull Peter back up. Before Peter called for help, Jesus knew the possible outcomes of how Peter would react to sinking among the waves. He knew, before the sole of Peter’s shoe sank into the water that Peter would cry for help. We see the same thing demonstrated with Job as God tells Satan Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8).
We have the benefits from having God’s promises and word revealed to us through the Bible, but Job had no such assurances. All he had was his faith in what he knew God could do, unlike us that can see what God has done in the past. God, knowing the end from the beginning, knew the outcome of what Job’s time of difficulty and troubles. He knew, that no matter how Satan attacked Job, Job would not turn his back on God. If God had even remotely saw that Job would have failed or that Satan would triumph, God would not have held him in such esteem. God knew Job’s heart and knew the choice that Job would ultimately make (Psalms 27:11).
This same concept of God being able to see the end of a trial before we even see the beginning is demonstrated in the gospels. Peter, sure of his ability to stand with Christ to the end, stated that he would remain by Jesus’s side no matter the consequences and even said that he was willing to follow Christ in death (Matthew 26:33-34; Luke 22:33-34; John 13:37-38). Jesus, knowing the trial of faith and the path that Peter would choose, told him that the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me (Luke 22:34).
It is not that God had set Peter’s destiny in stone and stripped away his ability to make a choice according to his free will, but that Christ, knowing all things, knew the exact choice that Peter would make and the outcome of that decision. Many denominations teach that it is the same about salvation; God knows who will accept and who won’t. In fact, the Southern Baptist Convention is struggling with this concept – the concept of Calvinism, that teaches the idea that a person has been condemed to hell or is saved already at birth because it is their God-ordained destiny. This is far from the truth – God allows the individual to shape his or her own destiny.
In fact, the Bible demonstrates that God knows the outcome of any action we make, regardless of what we actually do. Christ taught Nicodemus this simple truth when he stated He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). The key is understanding that right now, at this moment, you are either a believer in Jesus Christ or you are not – you have made this choice and the consequinces are already known to God – if you are saved, then you have everlasting life; if you are lost then you are condemned to suffer in hell for eternity. The choice is yours to make; God knows the end result of either choice. It’s the same concept with any other decision we make in this life – God already knows all possible outcomes.
