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Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Trust God’s Wisdom, Not My Feelings

In Proverbs 3:5-7 I read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” (NLT)


Have you ever had the feeling that something was so very, very right, but then when you did it, it ended up being so very, very wrong?


If we are not careful our feelings aren’t always the truth! How can it be wrong when it feels so right? There are a lot of things that are wrong that feel so right at the moment. A quick decision that seemed harmless at the time leaves you broken and scarred years later.


If I want to experience fewer dead ends and failures in life, I need to hear what Proverbs 3:5-7 tells me: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil” (NLT).


If I really want God’s blessing for my life, I have to depend on God’s wisdom and not on what my feelings say or what my gut says. In other words, trust in the Lord and not on my own understanding.


So how do I get God’s wisdom? What I’m finding is that I should pray. Talk to God, and let him talk to me as I read the His Word. That’s how to get his wisdom.


The Bible says in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (NIV).


God doesn’t want me to make foolish mistakes. He wants me to succeed. He wants me to make wise decisions with my time, money, and relationships.


The truth is, I’m not waiting on God for his help; he’s waiting on me! It’s like he’s saying, “Hey! I’m here. I’ll give you wisdom, and I’ll give it generously. I want to make you wise. You’ve just got to ask.”


So for me to be blessed, I’ve got to get God’s wisdom. And if I want God’s wisdom, I need to ask for it—and then be open to receive it.


When important decisions come my way, it's hard to trust anyone and sometimes even God. But God knows what is best for me. He is a much better judge of what I want than even myself. I must learn to trust him completely in every choice I make. I should not omit careful thinking or belittle my God-given ability to reason; but I should not just trust in my own ideas to the exclusion of all others. I must not be wise in my own eyes. I should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God's Word and wise counselors. I need to learn to bring my decisions to God in prayer; use the Bible as my guide; and then follow God's lead. He will direct my paths by both guiding and protecting me. 


To receive God's guidance, I must seek God's will in all I do. This means turning every area of life over to him. I need to examine my values and priorities. What is important to me? Where does God fall in this list? In what areas have I failed to acknowledge him? It's the areas where I attempt to restrict or ignore his influence that will cause me grief. I need to make him a vital part of everything I do; then he will guide me because I'll be working to accomplish his purposes.


In summary, I need to learn to trust in the Lord with all my heart. Never rely on what I think I know. Remember to include the Lord in everything I do, then he will show me the right way to go. I should never think more highly of myself than I should. Simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong. After all, God knows what is best for me. I must learn to trust him completely in everything. I need to be willing to listen to and be corrected by God's Word and wise counselors. Bring decisions to God in prayer, use His Word as a guide and follow His leading. To receive His guidance all I need to do is to turn every area of my life over to him and seek his will in what I do. 

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