Good morning after a windy night. Part of verse 5 of Proverbs chapter 3 goes like this: Never rely on what you think you know. I once made a list of things that I know and offered it to God for His use. I thought that I was doing something, I'm not sure what now. Trying to impress God? He knows all things and created all things. How is my little knowledge of a few things going to impress Him? Did I offer something that surprised God? He guided my footsteps from before I was born. The Lord does not need a copy of my resume. He might even edit that list to show me that in this thing or that I do not know as much as I think I know. That statement in Proverbs does much more than convict me of any shred of intellectual pride, it also comforts me in the future.
By adding a few words to the end we start to gain some understanding. Never rely on what you think you know will happen tomorrow. With this addition, we relieve our anxieties about those dreadful events we fear. God is in charge of tomorrow, what I think I know is not. Never rely on what you think you know will happen to a loved one. We imagine all sorts of terrible possibilities, perhaps God has something better in His plan. Never rely on what you think you know is going on in your neighbor's life. Have you asked God in prayer to guide them? Only God sees into the heart of everyone; our guesses may be way off the mark. No doubt you can add other phrases to that command, but why should we not rely on what we think we know? The answer is provided first.
"Trust in the Lord, with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know." (Prov 3:5) By setting aside what we think we know or have to offer, we come to God just as He has made us. Nothing I think I know or have is of any added benefit to God. No amount of money in my account is going to make God's kingdom run a little better. No amount of time given to service is going to put God in my debt. Nothing I can offer or do will save anyone... but anything I do or offer in Christ may bring someone to the Cross. I need God to show me the way. What I think I know might just be enough to really mess things up, if I don't come to God in prayer first. God thought of that too: "Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the way." (Prov 3:6) I have repeated these verses a lot lately, while I learn to trust in God with all of my heart, and stop relying on what I think I know. As a lost sheep in a tough world, I need the Shepherd to show me the way.
Get up for the day and shout a rousing "Hallelujah"!Bucky
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