This is why God’s Word tells us:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV
When we have fear, especially the fear of someone finding out an ugly truth about us, our sinful flesh drives us and rules over us to lie for our own “good” and our own “protection.”
But God, from whom all wisdom and truth is given, first in Exodus 20:1-17 and again in Deuteronomy 5:1-21 commands and directs His people in the 9th commandment not to bear false witness, aka: do not lie. And later in Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5-8 we are given direction by the Word of God to trust in the LORD with all our heart. This includes even when we have fear and are scared. And then His Word proceeds to tell us HOW to trust in the LORD with all our heart.
We are NOT to lean on, depend on or trust our own understanding.
We ARE to acknowledge and consult Him, by His Word, in all our ways.
We are NOT to be wise in our own eyes. Rather,
we ARE to fear/respect/believe/honor/trust the LORD by turning from evil.
From what evil?➡️From leaning on and trusting our own understanding. This sounds extremely familiar to Jesus’ command to deny yourself daily! And lastly, what does God say is the result? Proverbs 3:8 reveals the reality behind these commands of God.
“It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:8 ESV
And these words sound extremely familiar to Jesus’ proclamation and command from Matthew 11:
“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””
Matthew 11:27-30 ESV
In the above few verses and commands Jesus reveals to us a reality that the sin IN us hides from us. The sin IN us rules our flesh, our nature, our desires and ultimately or hearts. He confirms this reality elsewhere. For example in Jeremiah 17:9 and Mark 7:21-23. We are defiled humans. The Triune God revealed to us in the Holy Bible, KNOWS the reality of our condition and desires to rescue His people from trusting our sinful flesh!
Why?➡️Well, in our sin we are only deserving of His wrath.
Why?➡️Because we continue to be wise in our own eyes and we trust our own understanding of the world and the creatures (us) He created. And as long as we continue to be our own god or follow a god we’ve imagined to be like us - in our sin - we continue to pursue, not His purpose for creation, but our own wicked, evil purposes.
And what does that produce?➡️Tears, hurt, pain, and ultimately the death we not all only observe around us, but that we inflict upon others and that others inflict upon us.
Sin IN us and sin around us deceives us. It leads to destruction 100% of the time. And destruction is a reality that sin convinces us to long for. Does that sound silly to you? It does to me. It sounds ridiculous to say we long for destruction. But it’s the truth. In our fallen state we come to enjoy and take pleasure in sin. We like it. It makes us feel good. But God has created us in such a way to never be fully satisfied in sin! He created us to only, ever and finally be satisfied in Him!
Why?➡️
Because He knows us far beyond what we could know about ourselves!
Because He desires better for us than we desire for ourselves!
Because He loves us far beyond what we conceive love as!
He IS our Creator!
He is God and we are not! And by His grace alone are we delivered from sin and death. Aka: trusting self.
Look to Jesus alone for reality!
Look to Jesus alone for truth!
Look to Jesus alone for rescue and help!
Look to Jesus alone for what is good!
Look to Jesus alone for protection!
Look to Jesus alone for freedom!
Look to Jesus alone for forgiveness!
We cannot EXPECT The loving & justful Triune God to make sin comfortable for His images! But we can ASK our Creator of all that is, was and ever will be, to gift us faith! Faith in His Son Jesus Christ, the One & Only Savior of all His people!
In reality, there is only one race that lives upon the earth. ➡️The human race!
But make no mistake about it; the human race is divided!
Those whom trust themselves, honor themselves, worship themselves and obey themselves in rebellion to The Holy Triune God of the Scriptures.
And those, whom are His! Those whom He has called out of the world and rescued from sin by His grace alone!
Unbelievers, born only of the flesh that look at God’s commands and trust they know better for themselves.
And believers, born twice, of the flesh and of the Holy Spirit from above that look at God’s commands and KNOW they are for our good and are our protection!
Whose are you?
Only God - Father, Son and Holy Sprit will make your paths straight!
Grace and space for you and for others, no matter what it looks like!
Romans 11:36; solideogloria!
Psalm 19:14; coram deo!
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