Trust And Obey

Psalm 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good.....

Psalm 37:5
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

I Samuel 15:22
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.....

Acts 5:29
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought to obey God rather than men."

I think most of us have heard that as a Christian we must learn to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” But these words from Proverbs 3 contains more than just a general statement about living. Instead, you’ll find the steps you need each day to truly walk with God.

1. Don’t Depend on You

We live in a world where trust must be earned and seems to be in short supply. But Solomon, the famous king who wrote Proverbs, knew that trust is exactly where we must start. His words show us that life begins and continues daily with this view in having a real relationship with God.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)

Most of us have faced disappointments, which have taught us that we can only depend upon ourselves. But living the life God has called us to means unlearning that lesson. Instead, we’re meant to rest in God’s understanding.We may know in our minds that He possesses all wisdom:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33

 But sometimes trusting Him completely like that can be tough. There is an internal struggle as our old ways of thinking and acting call us to run to past behaviors.So, each day we must consciously lay aside our own plans and expectations—and surrender to His plans.

What if we don’t feel like we can trust Him like that. What do we do next?

2. Cry out to God

Surrendering to God begins with our lips and our thoughts. We need more than a commitment to depend on Him; we need to cry out to Him to show that dependence. "Do you mean...literally cry out....cry out loud?" I think maybe that is exactly what I mean. There is something that takes place when we verbally cry out to God...or shout to God....or yell to Him.....Such actions tend to strengthen me when I stop simply thinking about what I need to do. The action of verbally saying what's on my heart to God is like a huge exclamation point on where my heart and mind is.....

“in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”...Proverbs 3:6

When we pray, we admit that His ways are higher than ours. We show that we’re leaving our troubles and burdens and dreams in His capable hands. In fact, the Bible promises that when we reach out to Him in prayer, He hears us:

“Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. ” Psalm 55:17

We handed the keys of our will and life to Him, and we know that He’s able to lead us. But in order for that to work, we have to…

3. Run from Evil

So much in this world fights for our attention we owe only to God. John, the writer of the fourth gospel, tells us that these "things" that seek to draw us away from Christ are the desires of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride in our lives (1 John 2:16). 

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.” (Proverbs 3:7)

Sometimes, the only way to live the life God wants us to live is by separating ourselves from the those things which keep dragging us down.

“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” II Timothy 2:22

Is that easy? Not at all. Fleeing from the evil desires that pull at us means spending a lot of time crying out to God and leaning on Him. But we trust in the simple fact that God hears our cries and acts on them. 

When we pursue Him, we find life—abundant life. Running from evil and pursuing God doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Instead, it means we have to make a serious change: Think on these things and let God speak to your heart. I think it's a pretty good way to start of 2018 by taking a look at some of the basic steps we need to be aware of as we move forward as followers of Christ.  God on you.....MBB!