It’s a not-my-will-but-thine morning. I’ll use Psalm 5:1-3 for Temple worship today.

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Proverbs 3. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in 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.

As I read through this set of proverbs, I noticed that the exhortation to “Trust in the LORD” serves as the ideal refrain for each passage.

Along the still waters, I noticed that the exhortation to trust in the LORD is what is called the first principle in philosophy, or logic, or the necessary condition in formal logic.*

Trust is the linchpin: for if we fail to trust in the LORD, everything else fails. If we fail to “Trust in the LORD with all our hearts,” nothing called for or promised in this set of Proverbs will avail.

We will not long remember His law or keep the commandments if we do not Trust the LORD (Proverbs 3:1), so the promise that comes with it, “length of days, and long life, and peace” will not be added to us (Proverbs 3:2). We will not long hold to mercy and truth if we do not trust in the LORD (3:3). We will not bind them to our necks, or write them on our hearts, if we do not Trust in the LORD—therefore, mercy and truth will stand not for us but against us (3:3). In which case, favor and good understanding will not be found with us (3:4).

Those who are “wise” in their own eyes do not trust the LORD with all their hearts; they trust in themselves (3:7-8). If we don’t trust in the LORD, we will not honour Him with our substance, or yield to Him the firstfruits, and so the promise of full barns and prosperous presses will not avail (3:9-10).

We become resentful of His chastisement, and weary of His correction if we do not trust in the LORD with all our hearts (3:11-12).

We cannot find the happiness that comes to those who find wisdom and understanding, and all the rewards that follow (3:13-24), if we do not trust in the LORD with all our hearts (James 1:5-7).**

Only when we trust in the LORD with all our hearts can we enjoy the promise of 3:34—“When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.”

And no one can with confidence make the LORD their confidence who does not first “trust the LORD” (3:26).

Those who do not trust the LORD will struggle with every exhortation given in 3:27-32. Indeed, the wicked do not trust in the LORD, and so His curse is in their house (3:33-35).

Trust is the linchpin of faith. It is the proof of it, and the nectar of it, the key ingredient that flavors our faith and delights our Creator. Faith begets trust, or dies barren without it.

In the valley, Jesus reminded me of His own moment when trust overcame His fear and dread (Matthew 26:38): trusting the will of His Father over His own, He said, “Not my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22:42). I heard the call of my Shepherd: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take of his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, I was impressed by the Spirit to understand that, for me, it’s either trust or bust. Jesus was about to bust, indeed, blood dropped from His brow in the agony of His resistance against sin (Hebrews 12:4). For the disciple, it’s trust or bust. I’ll trust!

He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy hurried to catch up as we walked together with Him into the harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v72zq5m-shepherds-pasture.html

[*Trusting God is the one thing that is essential to every other aspect of our relationship with GOD. It is the core, or the central element of faith, which is the foundation of all our relations to and with GOD. Trust is the foundational element, or that upon which all else rests, or upon which all else is built. It is the primary component—the first or governing part. Trust is the key dependency, which, in engineering or software systems, means all else depends on this one element to operate correctly. I mentioned Trust as the “First Principle” and the “Necessary Condition,” but saying Trust is the linchpin tethering us to GOD is, for me, the clearest way to say it: without trust in the LORD, it all comes apart.]

[**James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.]