There Must Be A Better Way

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding"    (Proverbs 3:5) Thus says the Lord, "let not a wise man boast of  his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not the rich man boast of his riches" (Pro. 9:23), 

Hey Gang:  "Lord, there must be a better way!” Have you ever said that?    I confess I have. I have done so many dumb things in my life that resulted in time on the stool with my dunce cap on. And, I also must confess that when I tried to correct those errors in my own strength and intelligence, it resulted in another trip around the mountain.

I believe that is why Jesus said we need to go to the cross daily and unload our garbage bag from the previous day.    I admit that I am a slow learner but this I have learned in my tenure on this earth - when the rubber hits the road it is nice to have someone who has been there and won the battle to come along side me.   

The Scripture of the morning is from a very wise man, who did not always follow his own advice and found himself up to his armpits in alligators.  His counsel, when the rubber does hit the road, "Do not try and fix it alone but "trust in the Lord".

I have learned that when the alligators are snapping at my heels I need to check out my priorities.  Jesus provided us with sound advice when He said, "He who loves father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me and he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me"   (Matt. 10:37-38).   

Jesus went on to give us the bottom line in our obedience to following Him completely.  He said, "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it". (v. 39).  Confession time again.  I have read that verse many times before but did not have a clue what it really meant until we began to go to Voice of Martyrs and learn what true sacrifice for the Lord and our neighbors was all about.    

The message of the persecuted church is “Don't pray for my life but pray that my witness will be so strong those who would take my life would see Jesus in me and want a piece of the action.”  Their covenant commitment is centered on Jesus’ words, "We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (I John 3:16b). 

In my work with children the first thing I had to deal with was their lack of trust in adults.  When those who were commissioned by God to build trust in their quiver of children fail to do so, it places the child in bondage.  To stand before the forty-foot climbing tower is always an awesome experience, but to hear the word climb - fills every corpuscle of their body with immediate anxiety. 

Then, when they conquer climbing the wall and are the point of the wonderful feeling that goes with success, we say, "Now turn around, put your toes on the edge of the tower and drop off".  One can feel the tremors radiating through the towers and of course they are fully safe in climbing harnesses.

Soooo,  I believe we would all admit that we face trust issues throughout our lifetimes.    In a recent interview of several pastors the question was asked, “What is the number one problem in our nation today.”   There was no hesitation in the reply - lack of trust - because in that absence of trust comes the absence of integrity and honesty in the minds of the people.  The solution to the lack of trust, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding".   Are you trusting God today or leaning on yourself?

Blessings,

Gramps