The Leaning Tower of Me

As today's preacher prayed that we'd all adjust our minds to EXPECT something from the Lord, I felt my mind tuning in for a special message. Yes sir, He did it again! Praise His name. The preacher also asked us to pray this prayer: "Lord, Help me to care more about the Spiritual well-being of others." Yes Lord, may it be so!

One of my spiritual markers is 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 direct your paths."

This may be a combo of translations, but it is how my long term memory holds the verses!

I first found these verses during my teen years when I felt so alone in trusting God, and in acknowledging His Truth through my actions. At the time, I felt like I was missing out on parties, relationships, and fun. I wholeheartedly believed there was purpose in my trusting, but it was so hard. Now, at nearly 40, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the trusting as a teen was a very good choice. The Lord did guide my footsteps between then and now!

During today's sermon, a new application of Proverbs 3:5-6 became clear to me. The second half of verse 5 is flashing before me: lean not on your own understanding. When I started my master's program over 2 years ago, I prayed and asked the Lord for special wisdom in my educational pursuits. I have witnessed many people radically changed via education, and from my viewpoint, the changes were not the definition of wisdom. At the same time, I prayed for Godly sensitivity in embracing necessary changes related to my intellectual understanding of life issues. Today's sermon reminded me of the seduction that education represents when it comes to human knowledge.

"Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by the world's standards, you will have to become a fool so that you can become wise by God's standards. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God" (I Corinthians 3:18-19a).

Lean not on your own understanding. In reading Kevin Roose and A.J. Jacobs, I was overcome by their pursuits of Jesus within their own understanding. For those of us who believe there is a God, we believe (and we need to remember) that God is bigger in every way than our humanness. As a result, we will never understand Him this side of eternity. To me, this is a relief because the life that I experience and witness on this earth makes very little sense sometimes. Eleven years ago, I unexpectedly lost a nephew at birth due to a heart defect. This week, one of my closest friends also unexpectedly lost a nephew at birth due to birth defects. Two friends from college are dealing with the children in their care being subjected to unsupervised visits with their abusers. Every day good people are subjected to more pain than I can comprehend - it makes no sense!

Lean not on your own understanding. There are so many issues facing this world that I just do not understand, even though I may have an opinion. The only option I know of is to seek Truth through a personal relationship with Jesus. It is not acceptable to rely on the relationships others have with Jesus. Each one of us is personally responsible for our own lives; the truths we embrace and act upon daily. Only Jesus can fully know and understand our hearts. Most of us (if not all of us) often confuse our knowledge for God's Truth. Ask God for His wisdom and pursue it with all of your mind.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:3-4).

The fact is that the world is corrupt - we see it every day. Part of this corruption is the belief that we can gain knowledge apart from God; that we can understand our culture, and live God-pleasing lives, without truly knowing Him. I am striving to find God's Truth in spite of the corruption around me. I desire to help others pursue God's Truth, as well. First and foremost, I seek to be an example and guide for my children - the next generation. As today's sermon reminded me, there is a tremendous amount at stake in pursuing, finding, and living Truth.

Lord, Help me to care more about the Spiritual well-being of others.
Guide me as I invest in the lives of others to influence future generations.