"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not the Father is always on schedule (John 11:6–10).
Proverbs
1. Faith "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Prov. 3:5–6 nkjv). These two verses have encouraged believers everywhere in their quest for God's guidance, and for those who have sincerely met the conditions, the promise has never failed. But when we say, "I'm trusting in the Lord," what are we really affirming?
16:6–10). Our times are in His hand (Ps. 31:15), and the Father is always on schedule (John 11:6–10).
2. Commitment Knowing and obeying the will of God can't be a halfhearted endeavor on our part, a hobby we indulge in when there's an emergency or when we "feel like it." God wants us to trust Him with all our heart and acknowledge Him in all our ways. Knowing and doing the will of God isn't a "spiritual technique" that we use occasionally; it's a committed lifestyle that involves everything we do.
That we belong to God. No unbeliever could honestly rest on the words of Proverbs 3:5–6. While a sovereign God can rule and overrule in the life of any person, saved or lost,1 it is clear that the life of the unsaved person is motivated and energized by the world, the flesh, and the devil (Eph. 2:1–3). Only a believer can have the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit or understand the teachings of the Scriptures, and only a believer would really want to understand and obey the will of God.
Successful athletes make winning their full-time pursuit, and this shows up in the way they eat, sleep, exercise, and relate to their coaches and teammates. The word for this is commitment, and commitment involves obedience. "He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded" (Prov. 13:13 niv).
In the book of Proverbs, the wise father repeatedly gives his son loving calls to obedience. "My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands" (3:1 nkjv). "My son, keep your father's command, and do not forsake the law of your mother" (6:20 nkjv). "My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you" (7:1 nkjv). The will of God isn't a curiosity for us to study, it's a command for us to obey; God isn't obligated to reveal His will unless we're willing to do it. "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority" (John 7:17 nkjv). As F. W. Robertson said, "Obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge."
That God has a plan for our lives. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Prov. 19:21 niv). It is inconceivable that our loving heavenly Father would give His Son to die for us, and then abandon us to our own ways! We are not our own because we have been purchased by God (1 Cor. 6:19–20), so it's reasonable that our Master should have a perfect plan for us to fulfill for His glory. Ephesians 2:10 assures us that the good works God wants us to accomplish have already been determined; in Philippians 2:12–13, God assures us that He works in us to accomplish His good pleasure. The talents we were born with (Ps. 139:13–18) and the gifts we received at conversion (1 Cor. 12:1–11) are brought together by the Holy Spirit so that we can do what God has called us to do.
This commitment is spelled out in Romans 12:1–2, another familiar passage about the will of God. Before I can "prove by experience" what God's will is, and discover that His will is "good, pleasing and perfect" (niv), I must give Him my body, my mind, and my will, a total commitment of my total being. This is a once-for-all presentation, but it needs to be renewed daily as we meet with the Lord in worship and prayer.
That this plan is the best thing for us. How could a holy God will for His children anything less than His best, and how could a loving God plan anything that would harm us? We have no reason to fear the will of God, because His plans come from His heart. "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations" (Ps. 33:11 nkjv). Unless we see the will of God as the expression of the love of God, we'll resist it stubbornly, or do it grudgingly, instead of enjoying it. Faith in God's love and wisdom will transform our attitude and make the will of God nourishment instead of punishment (John 4:34). That the Father will reveal His will in His time. It's through "faith and patience" that we receive what God promises (Heb. 6:12, 15), and it's as dangerous to run ahead of the Lord as it is to stubbornly lag behind. "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way" (Prov. 19:2 niv). "Be not like the horse or like the mule" (Ps. 32:9). The horse rushes ahead and the mule won't budge, and both attitudes are wrong. Even the great apostle Paul didn't always know exactly the way God was guiding, and he had to pause in his work and wait for divine direction (Acts
A pastor friend of mine once said to me, "There are too many 'cafeteria Christians' in our congregation. Instead of letting God plan the whole meal and accepting it, they pick and choose what they want, and they miss the best dishes He fixes for them!" God wants all of our heart, and He expects us to obey all of His will in all of our ways. If Jesus Christ gave His all for us, how can we do less than give our all to Him?
The Hebrew word translated "acknowledge" in Proverbs 3:6 carries with it the idea of intimate communion and is used to describe the marriage relationship (Gen. 4:1; 19:8). Whenever I find myself distant from my Father, then I know that I've allowed something to enter my life that is not in the sphere of His will. Since the will of God comes from the heart of God, it ought to draw my heart closer to Him.