Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.




Let me tell you about the mental picture I got the other day when I read these verses:

A king sits on his throne. (This was back in the olden days when we HAD kings who HAD thrones to sit their royal bottoms on.) There's a dilemma in his kingdom. He's rather inexperienced and is in the process of asking his myriad of advisers for advice. The king knows that whatever his decision is, it will affect not only him but also the hundreds of people around him. So his choice had better be a good one. Lives could be at stake here!

There are about two dozen advisers standing before his throne, each trying to get his attention so that they can give him their ideas as to what he should do. Among them is one who is not so loudly trying to get his attention. However, the longer that the king chooses to ignore him, the louder and more persistent he will get. "Sire," he speaks, raising a hand. The king, seeing this particular advisor, acknowledges him. The advisor offers a suggestion, one that is simple and wise. Though the execution may not be easy, the king realises that this adviser's advice is the best he's heard yet, and he agrees to go along with the plan.

The king learns to listen to this advisor more often - in fact, consistently - because, well, he always knows what's best. Eventually, all of the other advisers are put out of their jobs, and the kingdom is all the better for it.

And they all lived happily ever after.




Okay, maybe someone out there is thinking, "What! Can't this king think for himself?"

Well...sure. So can you. You can decide who to listen to. You can decide to listen to yourself, to the people that influence you, to Satan, to God, etc. (Actually, that's about it. Maybe there's no "etc.") God's given you your own measure of common sense - granted. But you can't expect to go through life on your own. I know I can't! Just because I'm "smart" doesn't mean I'm smart enough to know the answer to every problem that comes my way - especially recently.

I'm having trouble communicating with this one friend of mine. I can't read minds; I don't know what problems he may be having in his own life. I can't understand why it's "awkward" for us to talk to each other now. So I have to trust God to work things out. See, I like to get things resolved A.S.A.P., but life doesn't always work that way. Often I rush into problems head-on, and I end up making things worse, tangling myself up in a spider web of misunderstanding, good intentions, wrong actions, and bad timing. This time, I'm going to do my part (my little bit of common sense coming into play), but then I'm going to have to let God handle the rest.




“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way.”
~ C.S. Lewis