Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 The Message
To sum the above statement up may seem a cop-out on taking responsibility, but if that is your view, it is certainly not God’s!
I believe the dictionary sums it up like this; “someone who thinks he knows everything and refuses to accept advice or information from others”.
Thousands of years ago men tried to reach heaven by building a tower. They made a decision without consultation with God and all they achieved was instead of having one language, we now have thousands (yes I believe that is how different languages originated). So we could go on. I personally have fallen into the trap of a know it all and took some stupid turns in life only to find out I did not really know it all after all. I guess you too might be able to pinpoint a time too.
Speaking on towers, as a child growing up I was fascinated with the Leaning Tower Of Pisa. I am fortunate that I have actually been to Pisa and seen this tower for myself. I could have stayed all day just looking at that tower (my wife not so much!), how much it leaned to one side and yet did not crash to the ground!
I would like to pause a moment at the word lean. We need to understand the word lean, it means to rest upon it in order to be strengthened or supported by it. I believe British engineers worked five years underpinning the tower of Pisa to ensure it did not fall to the ground.
Leaning has the sense of putting your whole weight on something, resting on and trusting in that person or thing. God wants us to lean only on Him which will open up His ability to give not just natural but supernatural guidance. This does not mean we do not use our brain as I have already stated but doesn’t want us depending on our natural way of reasoning.
Yesterday we talked on the benefits of the word all in relation to God, finishing with a song about life’s journey and how to stay on track. Well! God never calls us to be self-reliant, just the opposite. It is not weak or a lack of decision making, just the opposite. God wants to be our decision-maker. God has given us guidelines. His word, testimonies in Bible characters, prayer and waiting silently on God are means by which God helps us to make key decisions.
The warning on not to trust yourself is needed because if not heeded and we do lean on our own understanding we will miss God’s will. Never be wise in your own sight. Romans 12:6
Noah would have never built an ark in the desert. Abraham would have never left his home or been willing to offer up his son. When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone – not even God. But God knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we need than even we are. We must trust Him completely in every choice we make.
We should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason, but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of God’s.
Romans 12:6 informs us And don’t think you know it all!. We must not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counsellors. Bring your decisions to God in prayer; use the Bible as your guide, and then follow God’s leading. He will make your paths true by both guiding and protecting you.
Let me leave you with an event which I hope will help.
Several years ago an eastern paper reported this story: One evening a woman was driving home when she noticed a huge truck behind her that was driving uncomfortably close. She stepped on the gas to gain some distance from the truck, but when she sped up, the truck did too. The faster she drove, the faster the truck did. Now scared, she exited the freeway. But the truck stayed with her. The woman then turned up the main street, hoping to lose her pursuer in traffic. But the truck ran a red light and continued the chase. Reaching the point of panic, the woman whipped her car into a service station and bolted out of her auto screaming for help. The truck driver sprang from his truck and ran toward her car. Yanking the back door open, the driver pulled out a man hidden in the back seat. The woman was running from the wrong person. From his high vantage point, the truck driver had spotted a would-be rapist in the woman’s car. The chase was not his effort to harm her but to save her even at the cost of his own safety.
Learning who to trust and lean on is so important. As the Apostle Paul wrote to a group of followers of Jesus he had never meet. “Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works”.
The Bible teaches that God wants good things for you. Just as parents want good things for their children. Even so, God wants the best in life for you. He wants you to know His will. So lean on Him.