I woke singing As Bethlehem Sleeps. I’ll use Psalm 31:1-3 for Temple worship today.
My Shepherd called me into His green pastures and laid me down in Proverbs 3. The Mind of the Spirit called the attention of the spirit of my mind to verses 5-6:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Along the still waters, I mused. Many of us depend on GPS to give us directions when driving to a known destination. We don’t know the future, but God does. No satellite can direct our steps to unknown future destinations, but GOD can! We all need GOD to direct our steps. Don’t take another step forward into your future without taking to heart the instruction of the Spirit given in these two verses: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and, Do not depend on your own limited understanding.
The phrase trust the LORD means we are to have unshakeable confidence based on absolute assurance of the truth of God’s promises, His ability to fulfill them, and the certitude of His love. Regarding this last, nothing is more certain: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
Trust engenders boldness! Manly boldness is an explicit manifestation of confidence, and confidence is born of trust. Trust is the fruit of faith. The greater the object of faith, the greater faith is inspired. God is great; there is none greater. He is communicated into our hearts through His word, prayerfully read. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). God’s word enters into our hearts through our thoughts, and constructs there the image of GOD, for Jesus is the Word, and He is the image of the invisible GOD, and we see Him through Him, and He reveals Him to and in us, and as we see Him ever more clearly, we love Him ever more dearly, and through faith our doubts and fears are driven away. God is the object of our faith, and He engenders Trust.
Whatever we receive into our minds and allow to dominate our thoughts will finally fill our hearts. If we receive the words of the wicked and occupy our thoughts with theirs, our hearts will soon be filled with unbelief, worry, or even despair. I was enjoying the company of one of my friends today. He began sharing his thoughts and fears about the direction of events in this world, expressing concern about the future. He shared with me what a wicked and unreasonable Leftist said was his expectation for the election in 2026, and about a certain liberal he knew who voted for Trump in 2024, who testified he was disgusted with how the deportation program was playing out, and that he would never vote for him again. He finally put it to me and asked what I thought about all this.
I said with the boldness that trust engenders that I was not at all concerned about what any wicked and unreasonable person expects, or predicts, or what some disillusioned voter says. I told him I am only concerned about what GOD will do. GOD, Who ponders the hearts of men (Proverbs 15:11—“Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?”), and weighs every nation in His balances (Daniel 5:24-28). He is examining the hearts of men and weighing this nation. If He finds U.S. wanting, it’s game over! If He measures the US and finds that this nation has “forgotten God,” He will do as He does with the wicked, and with every nation that forgets Him: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).
As for His faithful remnant, He will do as He has promised:
Luke 21:17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
Luke 21:18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Luke 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
Remember the fundamentals of divine judgment. First, His judgment begins in His house (1 Peter 4:17; 1 Timothy 3:15). Second, He sets a mark upon those in His house who cry and sigh for the sins of the people, and sets them apart from His judgment (Ezekiel 9:1-11). God promised that He would work all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). He preserved Daniel and his friends, and Jeremiah, and many others through the judgment, and He will do the same for those of us who TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEARTS.
Those of us who trust God’s Word and His words do not lean on our own understanding, and will in all our ways acknowledge Him, will be directed through whatever comes.
In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, I saw again the importance that I daily remember our Master’s instruction: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Deny self, acknowledge Him — He will lead us forward directing our paths.
At the table, before He would pour His anointing oil on my head, He reminded me of His promised: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14; see Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:11).
I understood, and I trust Him! He anointed my head with His oil, then He filled my cup with grace sufficient to protect me from the evil sufficient for every day (2 Corinthians 12:9). As He filled my cup, He spoke, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). Goodness and mercy stepped up to me, and reminded me, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the “house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6).
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap:
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