Faith expresses itself in many ways. One of them is
trusting God’s direction and plans rather than thinking my own are better.
Just writing that in black and white makes silly the idea
that my plans could be wiser than God’s plans, but the human heart is
deceitful. I’m usually not aware of when I turn to my own way, at least not in
the beginning. Only when my plans don’t work do I realize my lapse. It is those
lapses that have taught me the most about living by faith.
The wise man in the Bible is Solomon. He was David’s son
and king of Israel. Before his father died, he gave this advice:
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
Like his father, Solomon did make mistakes, yet he also
knew how to walk by faith. He wrote these words: “The way of a fool is right in
his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15) How did he
learn that? By not listening to advice!
Like Solomon, most of God’s people learn the hard way, yet
I’m thinking there is likely no ‘soft’ way. The only thing I learn from my
successes is that I have a proud heart that will take the credit that God
deserves, and that the only times my plans turn out well is when I rely totally
on God in their making and execution.
Solomon verbalizes it well:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5–8)
The bottom line is that God wants the best for us. The
problem is misplaced faith. I tend to think my mistake is putting my faith in
me, but perhaps it is more accurate to say that mistakes come from putting my
faith in that original lie, the one Satan offered to Eve: “Does God really want
the best for you?”
Tozer says that we are by nature lovers of our own selves.
This is an issue, yet so also is the problem of thinking I know better than God
only because He must have some sort of unpleasant plan for me. Nonsense. I
trust my own self (and the lie of the enemy) rather than God, go my own way and
eventually stumble over my own foolishness.
^^^^^^^^^^
Jesus, thank You for the learning process that You have
designed. Not only do mistakes teach me the folly of my prideful planning but
also deeply affirm that You know the right way, the way that is best for me.
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