An Appointment with Christ: Proverbs 3 (Part 5)

On this occasion we continue our study of this wonderful passage from Proverbs Chapter 3. We have talked about God's call to treasure the Bible, the word of the Lord, not to forget God's law and to keep his teachings in our hearts. We have talked about the benefits of length of days and years of life and peace that are increased when we base our lives and our behavior on the word of the Lord. We have also spoken about that scriptural call not to let mercy and truth depart from us. We have said that a person who loves the word of God is a person of mercy and a person who guides his life by the principles of the truth of the word of God. We have talked about how when we live a life of mercy and truth then God gives us grace and good opinion, in other words, we acquire a good reputation with God and with men.

In fact, when I meditated on that passage again, I remembered what the Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ growing in grace in the eyes of God and men. Do you know that when you live a just life and a life of mercy, you not only gain your sympathy and good reputation with men but also accumulate points, so to speak, with God. God watches from his throne and feels a special satisfaction for those of his children who live a life according to his word. And how good it is to have a good reputation in the eyes of God. How good it is for us to be able to approach the throne of God and know that we do it with a completely clear conscience because we love God, because we love his word, because we have fellowship with him, and it is not that we are going to be saved by works, I don't know It is about that, but that God has a special consideration for his children who do his word and obey him. And when we pray and ask for things before God we have much more authority if we do it in the name of Jesus, than those who only have their life and their personal behavior as the things that recommend it. When one uses the mercy of God, based on the word of the Lord, then the grace of God does not stop flowing over our lives.

It says “...you will find grace and good opinion in the eyes of God and men”. And in this passage in verse 5, here in Proverbs Chapter 3, the writer inspired by the holy spirit goes on to tell us and advise us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own opinion, fear Jehovah and turn away from evil because it will be medicine for your body and refreshment for your bones.”

The first thing that strikes me is that the writer of Proverbs says "Trust in Jehovah", in other words, trusting in the Lord means trusting in the Lord, leaning on Jehovah, that is, trusting your life and placing your hope in the Lord. How good it is when a man or a woman walks the paths of life trusting, that is, trusting in the Lord, trusting in the word of God, entrusting themselves to Him, knowing that by ourselves we are not powerful enough to defend ourselves or to save us or to make the decisions we have to make.

There are many people in the world who live with tremendous pride, they walk with total confidence in themselves, they strut through life trusting in their intelligence, in their talents, in their cunning, in their strength and they reflect that pride of the self-sufficient man, the man who believes that he does not need anyone, he does not even need God because his money, his strength, his profession will provide him with what he needs. That is the biggest nonsense that can be.

The Bible says that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. The most powerful person is that person who does not trust himself, but puts his trust in the Lord. The strong person is the humble person, the person who knows that life is too complex to navigate by relying solely on personal cunning or personal resources. The most powerful man is the one who fears God and who entrusts himself to Him and knows that he cannot trust himself but that he has to put his trust in the Lord, that before leaving his house he asks God, Lord covers my head, get in my car with me, take me to my work and return me to my house with your blessing and your protection. The powerful person is that person who does nothing, no big or small decision without first consulting with God and asking him what you want me to do Lord. That person who does not trust his own understanding but knows that he needs God's understanding. Trust in Jehovah, young man. Trust in Jehovah, man. Trust in Jehovah, woman, because by trusting in the Lord and putting your hope in Him, by making yourself humble and dependent on Him like a child, then you can enjoy the resources and power of your heavenly Father.

I think that is why the Lord Jesus Christ said that unless we become like children we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The person who truly loves God and the person who is truly wise is a person who, like a child, is always attentive to the will of the Lord, like a child walking in a market or in one of these huge malls that we find in the big cities of this nation, clinging to the hand of his father or mother because he is afraid of losing himself if he leaves the presence of his father or mother, likewise we have to walk the paths of life, with that total dependence on God, not separating us for a moment from his presence or his teaching. Trust in the LORD with all your heart.

It is important that this trust in the Lord is not something merely partial or ceremonial but is wholehearted. When we depend on the Lord in that total way, in that complete way, it is truly when we then begin to enjoy true wisdom. The writer says: "... do not lean on your own understanding." How many people rely precisely on their own wisdom. They believe that by relying on their own understanding, on their own judgments, on their own conclusions about life they will reach success, and one day they discover that the path that seemed so promising is simply a dead end. They reach old age and discover that they have wasted their time because they never took the time to consult God and seek his will and seek his teaching for their lives. “...do not lean on your own understanding”.

Says the writer: “In all your ways acknowledge him”. Before you make any decision in life, before taking a profession or a job or marrying a particular person or deciding to make an investment, buy a house or a car, you must ask God: Lord, what do you want me to do? ?

The writer of the Epistle to Santiago says: Woe to those who get up in the morning and say today we are going to traffic to such a place, or we are going to sell to such a place, we are going to negotiate, we are going to go to such a city, instead of saying, God willing. We have to, at all times, put God first in all matters of our life.

Many times if we had taken the time to consult God and truly listen to the voice of his spirit within our being when we were going to make big decisions or small decisions in life, perhaps we could have avoided big mistakes that we later regret terribly. . The person who acknowledges God in all his ways, in other words, in all decisions and all aspects of his life, has a much better chance of living a fruitful and happy life. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

I invite you to acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, that is, in all your decisions and in all the affairs of your life. In this way you will become happy.

The Bible says: “...because it will be medicine for your body and refreshment for your bones”. May the Lord give you that attitude of trust in Him and not in yourself. God wants us to be humble and always put our hope in Him and not in the strength of man. God bless you.