July 4

Trust in the LORD

"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 path straight." Proverbs 3:5, 6

We all tend to view things from our own understanding, but it is not usually a proper view of things. There are two ways of looking at the circumstances in our lives: our way and God's way. It is a choice we each must make: are we going to trust the LORD with all our heart, or are we going to depend upon our own understanding? Often times in our lives, clouds appear and everything looks dark and depressing from our view of things. Our understanding tells us there is no hope, no sunshine to come. From God's perspective, things are quite different: he is above the clouds and the sun is shining brightly despite the darkness below. The difference is that from our perspective, we're standing under the situation. We can only see from our own vantage point: the ground, and the view is not too good. We need more than our own understanding. If we could see things from God's perspective, we would not feel hopeless and depressed. That is where trust comes in. We need to trust God with all our heart, and to acknowledge that what may look right from the underside may be an incomplete or totally distorted picture of things. We need to acknowledge that God is sovereign, that he knows what is best for us, that he is in control and gladly give up our own need for control.

Father, help us to remember how frail our understanding really is. We see so little of the picture; our understanding cannot be accurate. Help us to lean on you instead. Thank you for your faithfulness to us. Help us to remember there is a different perspective and we can trust you to show us the way. Amen