I mentioned them in prayer there, how precious these words are.
I just want to for a few moments just think on them.
We've all been in situations, I'm sure, where all of a sudden our plans have been changed very quickly.
Things happen and you're feeling nice and relaxed and prepared one minute,
and suddenly something changes those plans and you're set into a panic.
You can be all set to go away on holiday.
You've got the car packed, you go out of the car, turn the key and nothing happens.
There's a panic. What are you going to do?
Or you're all set to go on a text come through from Calmark, ferries cancelled.
Again, how often does that occur and our plans are changed?
Again, we see so many people have had COVID recently.
A COVID test changes your plans there and then.
There are so many things that just come our way.
Our best laid plans don't always work out.
But are our plans the priority?
Or whose plans are important?
Surely it's not our own plans that so often take priority.
But we lean towards that, don't we?
And yet as we read in these words in verse 5 and 6 of Proverbs chapter 3,
they're a great reminder to us of where our plans and our focus is always to be.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.
We need to be open to a change of plans.
Things can change very quickly.
And we saw that in our reading in Acts chapter 16 where we saw Paul and Timothy on their journey there.
Their plans were being changed.
Where they thought they were going, suddenly they weren't.
The spirit of God stopped them in their tracks, changed their direction.
And then in a vision God spoke to Paul about a call to Macedonia.
Now Paul could easily have said, that's not the plans we have in mind.
That's not where we're going.
That's not what we're doing.
What was important was that's what God wanted them to do.
That's where God wanted them.
Where he wanted them to go.
And so we want to see for ourselves the importance of these words in verse 5 and 6.
We're just going to go through them individually.
Three different parts.
Split them into three different parts.
And see the wisdom of God in always listening to him.
Somebody once said,
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.
And when we think of that with ourselves and God,
how often do we want to be the ones doing the talking to God?
Telling him, this is our plans.
This is what we're going to do.
But wisdom is listening.
And listening requires patience.
So we look at these words.
And we begin first of all with these words.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
This is where it begins.
Trust in the Lord.
Not in ourselves.
Trust in the Lord.
The creator of heaven and earth.
The sustainer of our lives.
The God who created all that we see around us.
The God who made us in his own image.
And the God who puts faith in our hearts by his grace.
And yet we still think that we know better than him.
No.
He says,
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Samuel Rutherford once said,
Duties are ours.
Events are God's.
When our faith goes to meddle with events
and to hold account upon God's providence
and begins to say,
How will you do this or that?
We lose ground.
We have nothing to do there.
We leave him to steer his own helm.
There is nothing left for us
but to see how we may be approved of him.
How often are we guilty of that?
Saying to God,
How will you do this or that for us?
Instead of just looking to God
to steer his own helm.
To steer the direction of our lives
individually and collectively.
That is trust.
Trusting God to direct everything for us.
His providence and his will are in his hands.
But instead we so often seek our own will.
When we think of relationships,
whatever relationships they are,
without trust,
our relationship is doomed.
If there is no trust in our relationship,
where is it going to go?
There is always going to be doubt,
anxiety, fear, worries.
And yet we are told here,
Trust in the Lord.
Because we can.
We can depend on him,
the one who won't leave us.
Trust in God as we go about his business,
as we go about all that we do
in his name.
And trust is very similar to faith.
You could almost tie the two together.
Trust in the Lord is the same thing.
Have faith in the Lord.
When you think of that great passage
in Hebrews 11
and all these people we read of there
who by faith,
by trust in God,
lived their lives,
went forward in life
in circumstances
where it seemed senseless.
They could have easily said to God,
what are you doing?
By faith Noah built an ark
in the middle of nowhere
with no sign of rain or water.
But he did it by trust,
by faith that God knew what he was doing.
And so many others,
that you read in that passage
and throughout scripture,
they didn't know.
They didn't know what was ahead
or what they were doing sometimes.
But they trusted God.
They had faith in God.
And that's what we are being told here,
to trust in the Lord
with all our heart,
with all that we are.
The wisdom of God's word.
There was a well-off lady
who was interested
in the things of God.
And she was searching her Bible
for answers.
She wasn't trusting
in the Lord at this point,
but she was showing an interest.
And so she wrote a letter
to her minister.
And she wrote this letter saying,
Will you put down in black and white
what I am to believe?
I have been told
of so many different texts,
she said,
and there are so many
that I'm confused.
Please tell me one text
and I will try and believe it.
Well, the minister's reply was this.
It's not one text
more than another
or any number of texts
that saves.
It's by trusting
in a person,
by trusting
in the Lord Jesus Christ
that we are saved.
And we see
the word of God before us.
I'm sure
this kind of text
is a kind of text
you see on
so many walls and homes.
Proverbs 3,
verse 5 and 6.
But we don't just trust
in these words.
We trust in the Lord
of these words.
Trust in the Lord
with all your heart.
And that's what we see
Paul doing
so often
on his missionary journeys
and in his life.
Trusting in the Lord
when change seems
to come along.
We don't see him asking,
why?
Why don't we do it this way?
Why don't we do it another way?
He goes
where he's directed.
And as a people
that is what we are
to be open to as well.
Individually
and collectively
in our lives.
To trust in the Lord
with all
our hearts.
Trust him
when dark doubts
assail thee.
Trust him
when thy strength
is small.
Trust him
when to simply
trust him
seems the hardest
thing of all.
Trust him
he is ever faithful.
Trust him
for his will
is best.
Trust him
for the heart
of Jesus
is the only
place
of rest.
Trust
in the Lord
with all
your heart.
that's the first
thing
that we see
here.
The second
thing is
lean not
on your
own
understanding.
Lean not
on your
own
understanding.
And again
the idea
here is
of being
self
reliant.
I
and I'm sure
all of us
would love
to be able
to say
we're right
all the time.
I would love
to be able
to say
to everyone
look
I've got
the answer
I know
best
but the
reality is
I don't
you don't
but collectively
we can find
the right
answer
with God.
Lean not
on your
own
understanding.
We all
have
opinions.
We all
have opinions
about
anything
and everything
in this
world.
We all
have
something
to say
but they
are just
that
our own
opinions.
And when we
think of the
situation that
we're in
just now
a time
of vacancy
it's a
time when
we'll hear
many different
opinions.
Who has
the right
answer?
Can we look
to one
person
here and
say
they've
got the
right
answer?
Well we
don't want
to lean
on our
own
understanding.
We don't
want to
lean on
our own
wisdom,
our own
opinions.
We want
to lean
on the
Lord.
That's
what the
writer here
is saying
Solomon in
his wisdom
is saying.
Lean not
on your
own
understanding.
The world
has changed
a lot since
the days of
Solomon or
indeed the
days of
Paul.
But what
hasn't
changed is
that we
need to
hear what
God is
saying to
us.
Yet we
hear so
often things
have changed.
We've moved
on.
We've moved
on from the
dark ages of
the Bible.
We've got all
this wisdom
in our world
now.
We've got all
this wisdom
all around
us.
We don't
need the
wisdom of
God.
But in the
many things
that have
changed,
some things
remain the
same.
people of
fears and
anxieties,
a people who
face joy and
sorrows,
a people who
struggle with
all kinds of
sin,
the needs
that we
have,
the responsibilities
that they
bring upon
us.
All of
these things
remain the
same.
They haven't
changed.
So as you
look at the
Bible and
you see God
speaking to
people 3,000
years ago
through Solomon
or 2,000
years ago
through Paul,
the people are
still the same
as ourselves.
They're no
different.
We have
the same
issues.
And in
chapter 2,
verse 1 of
Proverbs,
you see what
is key to
it all is
about trusting
in the
word of
God.
My son,
if you
receive my
words and
treasure up
my commandments
with you,
it begins
there, this
wisdom that
is being
imparted from
God, the
value of
wisdom, and
that we see
built on us,
you go on
through the
book of
Proverbs.
And these
words, lean
not on your
own understanding.
The word
literally means
to rest upon
something, but
you wait down
on something,
to make you
think that this
is going to
hold me, this
is going to
keep me up.
Well, our
own understanding,
our own
wisdom, is
not.
but by the
grace of
God that he
shows towards
us, the
one whose
ways are
above our
ways and
his thoughts
are above
our thoughts,
he imparts
wisdom to
us.
As the
writer James
says in the
New Testament,
if anybody
lacks wisdom,
let him ask
God.
And that
ties in with
just what we
have here.
Lean not
on your own
understanding.
God is
there.
God is
there to
be lent
upon.
Our own
understanding,
our own
wisdom, will
so often let
us down.
And you
just have to
look at
Paul.
When you
read Paul's
testimony in
Acts chapter
9, and
throughout the
book of Acts,
you see people
talking about
Paul and the
wisdom that
he was perceived
to have.
But it was
worthless.
He counted it
as dung, he
says in the
book of
Philippians.
His own
understanding,
leaning on his
own understanding,
led him down a
path of
destruction and
chaos.
He was there
destroying the
church, destroying
the Christians, out
to pursue them and
persecute them.
But then the
Lord intervened.
And when you
see what was
happening then in
Paul as he was
converted, and
as we read in
Acts chapter 16
in verse 5,
this man who
had persecuted
the Christians,
it says in
Acts 16 verse 5,
the churches
were strengthened
in the faith
and grew daily
in numbers.
Because no
longer was he
leaning on his
own understanding,
his own wisdom.
He was leaning
upon the
Lord.
And it's
always tempting
of us to
think we have
understanding,
we have
wisdom.
But let's not
think so highly
of ourselves.
We must
decrease,
and he must
increase.
We must look
to the Lord,
lean on him
and his ways,
and wait
upon him
with patience
and with
prayer.
And thirdly,
you see here
in verse 6,
in all your
ways,
acknowledge him
and he
will make
straight
your paths.
There is
this assurance,
there is this
promise that
comes from
God.
He will
make straight
your paths.
In all
your ways,
acknowledge him.
How do you
acknowledge God?
How do you
acknowledge God?
Is it just
paying a token
gesture to him?
Is it just by
turning up in
church?
Is that
acknowledging God?
It's more
than that.
It comes back
to that wisdom
of listening,
of not seeking
to speak
first and have
the answers to
all of what
we see as the
important issues
in our church.
It's about
listening.
By acknowledging
him, we
listen to
his word.
We seek
the guidance
of his
Holy Spirit.
We wait
upon him.
Paul found
himself in
that situation
in Acts
chapter 16,
waiting
upon the
Lord.
And he
found the
Lord directing
his path.
In Acts
16,
verse 10,
when Paul
had seen
the vision,
immediately
we sought
to go
into
Macedonia,
concluding
that God
had called
us to
preach the
gospel to
them.
You see,
it wasn't
their idea.
It wasn't
this is our
understanding
of the
situation.
They concluded
that God
had called
them to
preach the
gospel to
them in
Macedonia.
the Lord
directed
their paths.
And our
earnest prayer
at all
times would
be that the
Lord would
show us
his ways,
to show
us where
to go,
to show
us what
to do,
to tell
us what
to say.
In all
your ways
acknowledge
him and
he will
make straight
your paths.
This was
prayed
earlier.
When we
think even
of speaking
to people,
inviting
them to
church,
these words
tie in.
Trust in
the Lord
with all
your heart.
Trust in
the Lord
that he
will prepare
that person
you're wanting
to speak
to,
to invite
along.
That there
will be
an opening,
a door
opening for
you,
even before
you arrive.
Trust in
the Lord.
Don't lean
on your own
understanding.
Don't start
saying to
yourself,
they're never
going to
listen to
me.
They're going
to laugh
in my
face.
They're going
to turn
me away.
They're going
to rip
up the
invitation.
Don't lean
on your
own
understanding
of the
situation.
In all
your ways
acknowledge
him and
he will
direct
your paths.
There will
be times
when we
feel discouraged.
There will
be times
when we
meet a
closed
door.
Paul
made
these
things.
The
disciples
made
these
things.
But it
didn't
turn them
away.
It
didn't
turn
them
off
going
out
with
the
gospel.
They
continued
to
press
on.
And so
should
we.
To
press
on
because
we
have
the
glorious
gospel
of
Christ.
And when
we think
of the
amazing
ways
that the
Lord
directs
our
paths.
He's
done it
in the
past
to all
of you
I'm
sure.
Directed
your
paths
towards
the
Lord.
When
you
were
going
in
completely
the
opposite
direction.
Showing
you
his
wonderful
ways
that
he
works
to
bring
you
back
to
himself.
When
you
trust
in
the
Lord
with
all
your
heart.
When
you
lean
on
his
understanding.
When
you
acknowledge
him
he
directs
your
paths.
And
God
uses
remarkable
ways
to
remind
us
that
he
loves
us.
An
amazing
story
a man
on
the
west
side
once
told
me
of
his
days
in
the
Navy
during
the
Second
World
War.
He
was
on
a
destroyer
called
HMS
Lapwing.
And
he'd
been
on
it
for
a
while.
He
was
part
of
the
crew
but
he
was
granted
leave
to
go
home
in
March
1945
as
he
was
told
his
mother
was
gravely
ill.
And
so
he
left
that
destroyer
and
he
made
his
journey
back
home
to
the
west
side.
And
what
did
he
find
when
he
got
home?
His
mother
was
not
ill
at
all.
She
was
up
and
about
quite
healthy
quite
strong.
And
he
couldn't
understand
what
had
happened.
How
this
message
had
been
communicated
that
she
was
gravely
and he
was
to
go
home
only
to
find
this
was
the
situation.
After
a few
days
at
home
he
left
to
go
back
to
rejoin
his
ship
once
it
would
come
back
into
port.
The
thing
was
the
ship
never
returned
to
port.
Since
the
time
that
he
left
it
had
been
torpedoed
on
a
Russian
convoy
run.
it
had
sank
and
158
men
were
lost.
Only
61
survived.
He
wasn't
a
professing
Christian
at
the
time
but
it
spoke
to
him
of
the
Lord's
protection
over
him
and
it
spoke
to
him
in
a
powerful
way
that
he
came
to
give
his
life
to
Christ.
His
mother
lived
for a
number
of
years
after
the
war
and
he
himself
lived
until
he
was
over
a
hundred
and
he
served
the
Lord
in
a
strong
faith
all
his
days.
The
Lord
used
a
remarkable
situation
a
tragic
situation
to
remind
him
of
his
protection
over
him
and
he
came
to
trust
in
the
Lord
with
all
his
heart
and
God
uses
different
ways
and
different
means
to
bring
us
to
put
our
trust
in
the
Lord
and
to
strengthen
our
trust
in
the
Lord.
It's
not
just
about
a
moment
of
trust
it's
a
lifetime
of
trust
an
ongoing
trust
day
by
day
living
for
the
Lord
today
tomorrow
the day
after
all our
days
these
words
speak
to
us
Proverbs
is a
book
of
wisdom
and
there's
none
of
us
who
have
all
the
answers
there's
none
of
us
who
know
the
best
way
to
go
forward
but
the
Lord
does
and
that's
what
we're
being
encouraged
to
do
in
these
words
and
when
we
see
the
likes
of
Paul
in
that
call
to
Macedonia
to
preach
the
gospel
there
this
is
where
it
comes
from
trust
in
the
Lord
with
all
your
heart
do
not
lean
on
your
own
understanding
in
all
your
ways
acknowledge
him
and
he
will
make
straight
your
paths
well
may
the
Lord
the
same
Lord
of
Proverbs
be
our
Lord
to
lead
us
and
to
guide
us
in
his
paths
we're
going
to
conclude
by
singing
to
God's
praise
in
Psalm
143
to