Scripture Reading: John 14:1-6

Text: Proverbs 3:5-6

 

A young couple desired to go into missionary work. They invited a missionary, who was home on furlough to their home after church. The young couple frequently mentioned that their life was so uncertain. They wanted to serve as missionaries but the husband had multiple sclerosis. Eventually he might be immobilized in a hospital bed. Or, the doctor said, he might live normally until death. Or, there was a possibility, because of other health problems, that he could die unexpectedly anytime.

       

After hearing the term “uncertain” so many times, the missionary turned to the couple and said, “All of our lives are uncertain. You just happen to know it, and most people don’t.” 

 

His answer was totally accurate. No one knows the future. Things that appear to be a certainty today, may only be a memory tomorrow. Uncertainty may come in our life through one visit with the doctor who has news that will drastically change our lives. Likewise, uncertainty looms in every person's financial portfolio. Virtually all economists believe that the stock market is in for another big fall, but no one knows when.

 

Family relationships that were once thought to be solid and strong, marriages based on the vow, “Until death do us part,” splinter. Who among us has not been grieved by the news of couples who seemed to have such strong marriages, have those marriages unravel and end in divorce, even after being together for many decades?

 

Every aspect of our life has an element of great uncertainty to it. Life seems like a maze. Life can be like the puzzles and mazes that you need to somehow direct a path through. Life has innumerable snares, traps, pitfalls, and other dangers that come between us and our heavenly home.

 

There are many so-called solutions for the uncertainties of life. Some would say having the right philosophy will give you the guidance you need. Others advise more education as the way to get guidance in life. Still others advise a stoical acceptance of the uncertainties we face. But none of those solutions, as they are called, compare to the wisdom of our text in Proverbs 3:5-6:

 

            Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

 

The first thing that the text tells us to do is to trust in the Lord with all our heart. The Hebrew word for “trust” means “to cling to,” and also “to have confidence” in something or someone. To trust in the Lord with all our heart means that we completely trust Him in all the uncertainties of life. To trust in the Lord with all your heart is to have a childlike faith in Him.

 

Some of you may have heard about the blind girl who was trapped in a burning building in New York City. The firemen had become desperate. They could not fit the ladder truck between the buildings, and they could not get her to jump into a net, which she, of course, could not see. Although they urged her again and again to jump to safety, she stood by the balcony, frozen in fear, as the fire came ever closer. Then her father arrived. He shouted through the bullhorn that there was a net and that she was to jump on his command. The girl jumped and was so completely relaxed that she did not break a bone or even strain a muscle in the four-story fall. 

 

In that situation she jumped because she trusted in her father with all her heart and did not lean on her own understanding. Just as she responded to her father's voice and trusted that he would be there for her, so we are to put our trust in the Lord no matter what comes into our life.

 

So many people put their trust in others and become disappointed. So many put their trust in their finances and find out the truth of 1 Timothy 6:17 the hard way, as Paul tells Timothy: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God.” Instead of trusting in the philosophies and material treasures of this world, our text tells us to “Trust in the LORD.”

 

The only way to trust in the Lord is through saving faith in Christ. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way to the Father, and He has told us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me.” Or, as the ESV translates it: “Believe in God; believe also in me.”

 

Sometimes it seems as though we view trust in the Lord as an abstract phrase. Instead, we should consider what it means to trust in the Lord and be greatly encouraged by what is entailed in trusting in our God.

 

When we trust in Christ with saving faith we have the greatest blessing, the forgiveness of our sins. Our sins separate us from God. They rightly bring about His proper, righteous wrath at sin. But Jesus came to propitiate – appease – our triune God’s proper wrath against our sin. He did so by not only covering your sins and mine with His precious blood – if we truly trust in Him with saving faith this morning – but also, He imputes His perfect record of righteous obedience to every command given to us.  

 

And when we trust in Christ with true saving faith, we are not only saved from the righteous wrath of God, but we also have assurance that our faithful Lord will work all things for the good of those whom Christ has redeemed. As He does so, he uses both super-natural and ordinary events of life to guide His people.

 

No other adviser, in the maze of life, can use every means possible to guide you and me. Only God can and did: The Lord used a cloud and fire to direct a path through the desert for his people Israel. He spoke through a donkey to direct Balaam. He caused Gideon’s fleece to be wet, and the surrounding area dry, and then, at Gideon's request, God allowed the fleece to be dry, and the surrounding area damp, as Gideon sought assurance that he should deliver Israel from the Midianites.

 

Those are some of the supernatural ways that God has guided His people in the past. But now that we have the full revelation of His Word, the Holy Bible, which is our map through life, we don't look for the supernatural intervention of God as much as we rely on the truth of His Word. We are guided by His Word and by His Spirit as He applies the word to our hearts and lives.

 

As God guides us, we are to trust that He will indeed work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. For instance, in our lives God will often use the ordinary things of life – including the trouble and friction of life – for our good.

 

Paul and Barnabas could not agree on whether to take Mark with them. That disagreement, which was undoubtedly very unpleasant, led to the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys as the omniscient God who uses all things for His own purposes allowed the argument to further the kingdom of His Son.

 

Or, as a striking example of God using the ordinary to protect and to preserve one of his own through the perils of the maze of life, consider the experience of a missionary who was running from an angry group who were killing Christians in North Africa. He was pursued over a hill and through a valley. There was no place to hide. He was exhausted and those who wanted to take his life were not far behind. He came to another hill and there was a cave off to the side. With his lungs burning and his heart pounding rapidly he fell exhausted into the cave.

 

He expected his enemies would find him soon. He knew that once they came into the cave there would be no escape from them. But he knew he was ready to meet his Lord and Savior and that his life was in the hands of God.

 

As he prayed and waited, he noticed a spider had begun to weave an intricate web across the mouth of the cave. He was amazed at how quickly the spider could work; soon the web covered the entrance. Moments later his pursuers arrived and were ready to investigate the cave when one of them yelled, “Look, there’s a spider web over the entrance! He can’t be in there!” As his enemies rushed by the cave and went futilely onward, the missionary prayed a prayer of heartfelt thanksgiving, and then exclaimed: “Where God is, a spider's web is like a wall. Where God is not, a wall is like a spider’s web.” 

 

God does not always work that way in your life and mine. More often than not we see the spider web and cringe at the spider, and we don’t see the purpose behind it. Yet because God is God – omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, loving and kind to His people – we have great encouragement to “Trust in the LORD with all our heart.”

 

What other adviser in life could you possibly find who is omniscient? Or what guide could you possibly find in the maze of life who is all-powerful? What other guide in life can you find who has a perfect track record of always being faithful?

 

 

We are also told, in verse 5, to “lean not on our own understanding.” We lean on something for strength and for support. Some of you have found out, as the years go by, that a cane is invaluable. It is something to lean on and to get the support and strength you need to walk. But can you imagine having a cane that was like a weak and broken reed? If you find a reed by the marsh, you will see that it is as thick as a cane, and it has the appearance of wood. You might imagine that you could pull it from the marsh and use it as a cane. But if you were to do so, as soon as you lean on the cane, it would collapse and you would fall.

 

Unfortunately, our human understanding is as weak and frail as that reed. Our own understanding will invariably lead us astray if we lean upon it. Ever since the fall of humanity into sin, the image of God within us is distorted, much as a pebble will distort the perfect reflection of a pond. We are indeed created in the very image of Almighty God, but sin has distorted us much the way those curved mirrors distort the image that you see of yourself when you look into them.

 

A restaurant we frequented had a whole wall of curved mirrors by the exit of the restaurant. Look in one mirror and it seemed as though every bite you took went straight to your waistline; the distortion of the mirror makes you look very wide. But take another step or two and look in the next mirror and you look tall enough to be looking down on any pro basketball player. From the view of that mirror, the meal you had added to your height and not your width. I don’t remember much about the quality of the food from that restaurant, but I do remember the distorted images of myself reflected in those mirrors.

 

But when our mind is distorted and bent out of shape because of sin, and when that sin is rooted in our heart – which biblically speaking is the center of our being – then it presents a serious problem when it comes to leaning on our own understanding.

 

Yes, we are created in the image of God. Because of that we are able to do many great and wonderful things. The human mind is truly an amazing creation of our God and we rejoice in that. But we also recognize that sin has distorted us to such a degree that our own understanding is like that broken, hollow reed. It may look as though it has the strength to support us, but when we lean upon our own understanding, we find ourselves more uncertain and deeper in the maze of life than ever before. That is why instead of trusting in our own understanding we are, verse 6 tells us, to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways.

 

 

One of the keywords in verse six is the word “all.” Most of us who are professing Christians are more than willing to acknowledge our need for the Lord in the big things of life. For instance, a crisis with our health brings us to our knees in prayer. Or a career change reminds us that in the maze of life we need the direction of the Lord and we pray and seek His will.

 

I pray for you young people as you look to the future, especially to whether it is God’s will for you to be married, or to be like the apostle Paul, single and so valuable to the kingdom of God. I pray that you acknowledge the Lord in all your relationships and seek only to marry another Christian.

 

In all these so-called “big decisions” of life we tend to acknowledge the Lord. But verse 6 doesn’t say in the big decisions acknowledge Him, it says “in all your ways acknowledge him.”

 

We often fall into the same trap as the Israelites did. They had quite the pilgrimage through the desert, which serves to illustrate our lives today, as we journey through the desert of this life to the promised land of the heavenly Canaan. One generation never made it through the desert. The next generation did. They crossed the Jordan. They saw Jericho fall. They saw their enemies cringe. They weathered the repercussions of Achan’s sin, when Ai was destroyed. When they came to Mt. Ebal they renewed their covenant promises with the Lord. They had acknowledged the Lord in these so-called “big things” in their life.

 

But then in Joshua chapter 9 we read about the Gibeonites. They had heard about how the walls of Jericho fell and how the town of Ai had been destroyed. They heard about how the Lord had instructed Israel to destroy the nations in Canaan so that Israel would not be corrupted by them.

 

The Gibeonites realized they were not powerful enough to fight the Israelites, so they “resorted to a ruse: they went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn out sacks and old wine skins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, ‘We have come from the distant country; make a treaty with us’” (Josh. 9:4-6).

 

Although Joshua was a gifted and godly leader, in that instance he leaned on his own understanding and did not consult the Lord in all his ways. Joshua 9:14 describes how “the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.”  It was after they had made a binding treaty with the Gibeonites that they realized they had been deceived. They were deceived because they leaned on their own understanding instead of acknowledging the Lord in all their ways.

 

Life is made up of many little things. Added together they form the structure of our life. The little things of life are like so many bricks. Pick up one brick and it’s not that much bigger than your hand. But put brick after brick after brick on top of each other, with the mortar in between, and what do you have? You have an entire building. It is same way in life. The little things add up and they build our lives.

 

As an example, consider this familiar saying that packs so much truth: “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”  Precisely because the so-called little things add up, it is absolutely crucial that in all our ways, we acknowledge the Lord and seek His wisdom and guidance in every facet of our lives.

 

 

When we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, verse 4 tells us the Lord will make our paths straight. That doesn’t mean that all the curves and twists and turns of life will be automatically straightened out for us.  Having a straight path does not imply a problem-free life of health and wealth. Jesus Himself warned that in this world we would have trouble (John 16:33). Having a straight path means that God will direct our steps. Some of you may have learned verse 6 in the old King James Version:” In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy paths.” Or, as Proverbs 16:9 puts it: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

 

Our ability to direct our way through life is hindered and hampered by our human limitations and is twisted by the effect of sin in our hearts and in our minds. Our ability to direct our way through life is thrown off course when we listen to the philosophies, ideologies, and theories of this fallen world instead of following the truths of God’s Word, the Holy Bible.

    

And that’s why it is so crucial that we put this text into action, trusting in the Lord with all our heart and leaning not on our own understanding; in all our ways acknowledging Him – so that He will direct our path – make our paths straight.

 

Years ago, before the advent of radar – and now in our generation the GPS and other systems of guidance – ocean going vessels had two compasses. One was by the captain; the other compass was on a mast head way up high above the ship. Quite often the captain would send a sailor up the mast to check the compass way above the boat.

 

A passenger, curious about what was going on, asked the captain why there was a compass on the masthead and why he would often send the sailor to check that compass. The captain explained that there was enough metal on the ship to affect the compass on the deck, but the compass on the masthead was unaffected by its surroundings; it was perfectly accurate. “We navigate,” the captain explained, “by the compass above.”

    

Is the same true for you and for me? Do we lean on our own understanding? Or do we trust the guidance from above?

 

Being directed from above is a blessing that comes when you trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. When you acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, then you will be directed by the only omniscient, all-powerful and eternal Guide, the Lord Himself.  And the way He reveals His guidance is through His Word. Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

____

 

It has been righty noted that to make a person's path straight implies directing their path toward a goal, a goal that is continually put before them. The ultimate goal in all of life is to be on the path that causes us to focus upon Christ who suffered and died for our sins and rose again for our justification. Many times, when our paths seem especially thorny, steep, and troublesome it is because our God, our faithful guide, is allowing the hardships so that we focus again on Him who left the glory of heaven to come to this earth and to suffer and die for our sins.

 

When did the prodigal son go to his father, confess his sin, and seek reconciliation? It was when his life got so bad that he coveted the food that the pigs were eating. And who allowed those circumstances? His heavenly Father. God will use whatever path is needed to bring His elect to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Our heavenly Guide also allows hardship and trials on our pathway so that we are sanctified by suffering. That’s why James wrote, “Consider it pure joy... whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).

 

When the Lord directs our path, he doesn't promise a life of ease without any hardships, but by His grace He directs His people to the only path that leads to eternal life. The same One who declared that He alone is the way, the truth and the life – the only way to the heavenly Father, is also the One who said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matt. 7:13, 14).

 

Have you entered that gate – the doorway of Christ? Is your trust in Him alone? Or are you still on the broad road that leads to destruction?

 

In the journey through the maze of this life, may you and I always have our eyes focused in faith upon our faithful triune God, as we trust in Christ with all our heart, leaning not on our own understanding, but acknowledging Him in all our ways. Amen.

 

 

Bulletin outline:

 

                                                        Proverbs 3:5-6

 

                                            Proverbs 3:5-6

 

I.  Life often seems like a maze with many uncertainties. Therefore,

     in the pilgrimage of life, it is essential that we:

     1) Trust in the Lord with all our heart (5a), through saving faith in

          Christ alone (John 14:1-6)

 

 

 

     2) Lean not on our own understanding (5b)

 

 

 

      3) Acknowledge the Lord in all our ways (6a; Joshua 9:14))

 

 

 

II. By doing so, the Lord “will make straight your paths” (6b):

     1) Having a straight path does not imply a problem free life of health

          and wealth (John 16:33)

 

 

 

    2) Having a straight path means our path is guided by God’s Word and

         Spirit; He will direct our paths giving guidance from above (6, KJV;

         Proverbs 16:9; Psalm 119:105)

 

 

 

    3) When the Lord directs our path, He directs us to the only path that

         leads to eternal life (Psalm 16:11; 73:24-26; Matthew 7:13; John 14:6)