My Own Understanding

“Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Life is such an up and down journey isn’t it? There are times when things are going well and others when it appears that everything is falling apart around us. It is during those “tough times” that we all have a choice to make. To either trust God…. or to not.

Through a series of events, June was a tough month (here’s to hoping July is much better!). However, it has been SO GOOD. Wow, never thought I would say that. But it’s true. A verse that stands out is in I Peter 1:

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

I Peter 1:6-7

The line that hit me was “these have come so that your faith may be proved genuine.” Wow… how many of us WANT to go through trials in order for our faith to be proved genuine? I for one, do not, but I also know that it is necessary.

Like all of you… when life gets tough, I ask God questions. And not just ask, but demand. “Why this??” or “why that??” or “why did this happen??”

But what does God owe me? Why must I demand that He does what I want when I want it in MY timing? He doesn’t owe me anything?

But yet He WANTS to give good gifts to His children. However, those gifts come in His timing… not mine. And that is a hard thing to grasp.

Now back to the verse in Proverbs… “lean not on your own understanding.”

How many times I have on leaned on my OWN understanding of a situation? Tried to figure out the why’s. When I may never understand.

But God in all His glory wants to give me good things. And I know He will.
And even thought he refining process is not always the most enjoyable… it is SO necessary.

So I will continue to get on my knees before Him and raise my hands in worship of the One who DOES know what He’s doing. And knows all things.

Anneli