A great truth through the game of Snake and Ladder
Trust, lean not and acknowledge
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. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
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How does God direct His paths in your life? First of all, you should trust in Him with all your heart. Believe in His wisdom and ability to guide you. At times, we do not trust in Him with all our heart. We are afraid of taking the first step of trusting in Him. We go to man and trust in him. But we do not trust in God Who has given His Son for us. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not trust in our God. Maybe, we trust in Him but not with all our heart. Like a child who trusts in his father, we have to trust in Him. We may trust both in God and in man. But God wants us to trust in Him with all our heart. It is 100% trust. What a Friend we have in Jesus? If Jesus is your eternal Friend, do you carry every burden in prayer to Jesus Christ first? While trusting in the Lord, you should not lean unto your own understanding. According to your understanding, you may choose a wrong path. If you trust in Him with all your heart, God will not allow you to choose that path but will take you to another path. People may give you many suggestions and you will get confused if you listen to their ideas or suggestions. Just go to your closet, kneel down before Him and say, "Lord, I trust in thee with all my heart. Lead me through the right path". After committing your ways into His hands, then go ahead. God will open only that way you have to tread on. He will close the other ways before you. But, in your own ways, the ways closed by Him or which do not open for you may appear to be good. Do not lean on your own understanding but leave everything to His judgment. Remember that our God is good and always does well for His people. He brings water out of the rock for us. Your vision is always short-sighted but His vision is far-sighted. God looks beyond the horizon whereas you look at the horizon. He goes ahead of you and prepares everything for you.
Thirdly, in all your ways, you have to acknowledge Him once you have trusted in Him with all your heart. God will ordain all your ways. Be assured that God guides you in all your ways. Every person who you will come across will be ordained of God only. There may be still afflictions or confusion for you. But your eyes shall see "thy teachers" - servants of God who the Lord sends your way to comfort and guide you. "Thy teachers" may be certain Bible verses which will speak to your heart giving you guidance. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left (Isaiah 30:20-21). When some misfortune befalls you, you should not think that God is not with you. He is with you in all your ways because you have trusted in Him with all your heart. Even if misfortune befalls you, acknowledge Him. He will make a way for you even in the wilderness because He is with you.
If you acknowledge Him in everything, He will direct your path. At times, we trust in Him with all our heart but do not acknowledge Him in everything that happens with the result that He could not direct our paths in the right direction. This is like a mountaineer who has climbed the mountain but did not deem it necessary to plant his flag on the summit of the mountain as a mark of success. When he narrated his success story to others, they could not believe him because there was no evidence before their eyes. Likewise, you do not see the evidence of His guidance in your life and miss the mark of reaching your destination. The mountaineer did not acknowledge the universal way of success through the planting of the flag on the top of the mountain. He did work hard straining his every nerve to reach the summit of the mountain but did not acknowledge the universal way of success through the hoisting of the flag on the top of the mountain. Thus he lost the reward. His success did not lay in his reaching the summit but in hoisting the flag on the top of the mountain. In fact, the destination for him is not the top of the mountain but the act of hoisting the flag on its top.
Similarly, we trust in Him and then go ahead towards the destination. But if we do not acknowledge God in all ways, especially, while nearing the destination, we may lose sight of the destination but may drift away towards another direction. Or we may doubt the way He has led us when we are about to reach the destination or to receive His blessing. Unbelief at this juncture may take our eyes off the destination. God cannot help us in such a situation because we have not acknowledged Him in all our ways. I would teach this truth through another example. You must have seen the game board of snake and ladder. There are many squares on this board. You have to move your coin starting from the square No.1 at the bottom and you have to reach the square No.100 at the top. You will find many ladders and snakes. As the dice is cast, you will have to move your coin. If it reaches the mouth of the snake, you will come down. Cast again the dice. If you land on a ladder, climb up; if you hit a snake, slide down.
You will find the mouth of a long and big snake on the square No.99. If you reach here, then you will slide down to the bottom row of squares. It will be a great fall! This teaches us a great truth. The ladders are the various steps of graces that take you to the destination i.e. the square No.100. The small snakes are the different tools employed by the enemy to bring you down. Of course, you will definitely get a snake bite. But you will have to recover from it and move up. You should escape the long and the big snake on the square No.99.
In your spiritual life, this long and big snake may be your developing a sudden feeling of unbelief. If God has promised you healing, you have to claim it and reach the destination by faith. While climbing up, you have to activate your faith by acts. You have to cast the dice and move the coin. It will not move on its own. If you are on a wheel-chair, you have to start rising up from the wheel chair and to ask someone to lift you up from the wheel chair. You have to take up your bed and walk. "In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6) "Rise up and walk" is the word of prophecy for you.
Christ Jesus has already finished His work on the Cross of Calvary for you. He will not again go to His Cross for your deliverance. Christ Jesus died on the Cross not only for our great salvation but also for delivering us from our sicknesses and problems. All you have now to do is "rise up and walk". By faith, you have to take the first step. If you are now sick with no relief after undergoing all kinds of medical treatments, as you read this message, just rise up and walk in His Name. If your dear one is on the sickbed, you may lift up and make him/her walk in His Name. If you face a personal or a financial problem, you should now thank and praise Him for His wonderful work for you on the Cross. If you are on the look out for a better placement in your career or a change in your business, you should now start applying or looking for new avenues. As you walk by faith, believing that the Lord has already performed this miracle for you on the Cross of Calvary, you will experience this miracle in your life or in your ministry to the Lord.
I am not talking of positive faith or faith healing. You have not seen or heard about what the Lord has prepared for you since the beginning of the world. You have to simply discover through your spiritual eyes the things that the Lord has already prepared for you. "…since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him' (Isa.64:4).
Just remember the truth of the snake and ladder game. Trust in the LORD with all your heart as you walk with Jesus by faith (moving your coin on the board). Lean not unto your own understanding when you face the trials and tribulations (encountering the snakes). Just move on by faith. If the snake has bitten you, just come down and recover in His green pastures. In all your ways acknowledge Him even when you near the destination (reaching the top row of squares just near the square No.99). He shall then direct your paths by delivering you from the temptation or the evil. When you reach the summit, you should neither look down nor beat a hasty retreat. But hold on to your ground on the summit and hoist the flag on the top.
- Job Anbalagan
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