I was reading one of those Christian romance/mystery novels the other night and came across this quote by the author Susan Sleeman. “It’s a lot easier to trust God with someone else’s life than your own.”
As Christians, trust is a main component of our walk with God. Probably the most well-known verse is found in Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding …” [HCSB]
That thought continues “…think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Don’t consider yourself to be wise, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” [vs 6-7]
As Ms. Sleeman wrote in her novel, it is a lot easier to look at someone else’s life and decide what they need to do to trust God. It is a lot easier to give advice to others about their faith, than it often is to maintain our own in the midst of difficulties and confusing times.
Yet trusting God is fundamental to maintaining a healthy relationship with our Creator and Savior and LORD. Proverbs gives the command to trust in the LORD and not rely on our own wisdom. It reminds us to “think about Him in all [our] ways.”
When we fail to apply God’s standards to our ways, we move away from “right paths.” That often puts us on a confrontation with evil in our lives. The voice of the LORD diminishes because we do not want to hear that we are relying on our own understanding and being foolish in our evaluation of our own abilities.
The only way back when we find ourselves relying on ourselves is through repentance – an about-face and return to Him who loves us so.
