Title Trusting God (Lent Day 9 Sermon)
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 Acknowledge him in all things. Then he will direct your way.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)
Wasn't yesterday's Word too powerful? “Let no wise man boast in his wisdom. A warrior should not boast of his bravery. A rich man should not boast of his wealth.” As powerful as the Word is, I want you to have a great challenge in your life from this Word.
Today's Word brings us to the core of the Christian life. Before we begin today's talk, I would like to ask you a question. “Do you truly love God completely?” As in today's verse, do you love God “with all your heart”? “With all my heart” means “to trust and believe in God in all circumstances.” Trusting God, but trusting God “with all that you are”. This is the meaning of the phrase “with all your heart.” How are you? Can we always believe and trust in God in good times and in bad times? No matter what kind of pain or suffering you face, can you always trust God? Can you trust God no matter what trial you are going through? Let me ask you a few more questions. If your dreams are horribly shattered, will you still trust in God? Can you really trust God “whole-heartedly” no matter what?
Instead of trusting in God, aren't you trusting in yourself? Are you not relying on your own understanding? It is the “power to realize and interpret things” called “comprehension”. We have to choose between relying on our own strength or on God. We must choose whether to follow our own interpretation of life or the path God directs us to follow. There are some things that happen in our lives that we can't control on our own. Can I believe that God loves me in all of these things, and that He is still working to change all these things for good?
Where did this belief come from? “No matter how difficult or desperate circumstances surround us, God is now working to turn them into beautiful things.” Where did this belief come from? Is it from Romans 8:28? Did this belief come from Paul? no. The origin of this faith is Jesus Christ. The Lord overcame all hardships with the belief that “God has been working until now.” (John 5:17). Because of this faith, the Lord was able to trust God absolutely, saying, “Not as I will, but as you will.”
God shows us this faith at dawn this morning. We ask you to believe that God is still working to change our lives beautifully. And he tells me to trust me. We cannot understand everything that happens to us. Therefore, we must learn to trust God rather than rely on our own abilities. No one can trust God in the first place. We need to learn to trust God, starting with the little things and doing the big things.
The theme of the Book of Job is suffering. How Job learns to trust God in the midst of suffering is the heart of the book of Job. Job had far more problems than we think. All his children died. At that time, Job's children were gathering at the eldest's house to eat. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and hit the four corners of the house, and the house collapsed, crushing all of them. Job's sudden misfortune did not end there. He lost all his livestock at once. He lost all his grain. He lost all the wealth he had accumulated. And he got sick. He was sitting on the burnt ashes, weeping and scratching himself with the broken tiles. His wife was there, but it didn't help at all. Job's wife harshly told her husband to curse God and die.
Job's friends came to hear the news of Job. The friends didn't say anything for the first week because they didn't know how to comfort Job. They wept together and patted their backs for the suffering Job. They were wise good friends. But after a week, his friends started advising Job. Where did their wisdom go, they came to a ridiculous conclusion about Job's suffering. And he blamed Job for everything because of his sins. They thought their advice would be of great help to Job. They tried to understand and interpret Job's problems with their own thoughts and understanding. Their advice was wrong. In solving Job's problems, the advice of his friends was of no help. Rather, their advice made Job's problem even more labyrinthine, and Job suffered serious injuries in the process.
Job no longer listens to his friends and asks God one-on-one. “Lord, how am I going to understand this?” I asked. Job defended himself before God. “Lord, my heart is right!” “Lord, my heart is pure!” “I am a man of integrity!” “I am not guilty of anything!” “I can’t understand why all this has happened to me!” So Job cried out to God.
Job did not know. They did not know that God allowed Satan to do all these things. Therefore, they were completely unaware of the fact that Satan had caused these unfortunate things to Job. Job did not know that God had allowed Satan to do all these things to test his faith. God's test was like this. “Dear Job, I rejoice in your faith and trust in me. Can you show me that no misfortune that happens to you can break your trust in me?”
However, Job, ignorant of this, protests to God to explain why he has to suffer like this. Do you know what God's answer was? "no. Job, I will not explain to you why. Why do I have to explain everything to you? You speak as if you know everything!” Instead of explaining everything to Job, God made him know how great his creative power and greatness are. He made Job admit that he knew nothing. God made Job realize his limitations by asking a question he never knew.
When Job finally surrendered to God, he said: “Until now, I have only heard about you, God. But now my eyes see you. Therefore, I sit on dust and ashes and repent of my ignorance (Job 42:5-6).” Job says: “Lord, I have asked many questions. But now I will not say anything and just trust in the Lord.”
This is the highlight of the book of Job. This is the brightest part of the book of Job. Even as people read the book of Job, they miss the point of the book of Job. After reading, “How was Job’s problem resolved?” I ask. Even those who know the book of Job to some extent say, “Well, it’s not quite clear… ' He blurs the end of his speech. It's not like that. The message of the book of Job is not obscure, it cannot be any clearer than this. What is the central message of the book of Job? Does this mean that Job will no longer rely on his own understanding? Because his understanding of interpreting his life is wrong, isn't it that he wants to trust only God and rely on God's understanding? And, didn't God take pleasure in Job's repentance? Could it be any clearer than this?
When Job restored his trust in God, God returned everything to Job. You have returned your lost family. You have returned your lost property. He blessed Job twice as much as he had before.
Guys, I hope that the story of Job will help you in your life. You must not rely on yourself. Don't rely on your own understanding and interpret what's going on in your life one way or another. You must depend only on the Lord. You must break all other bonds of trust and trust only in the Lord. When you trust in the Lord, you must trust it wholeheartedly. You must acknowledge the Lord in all things.
What are the results of a life of acknowledging and trusting the Lord in all things? “Then he will direct your way.” God is teaching me the way I should go. “And He shall direct your paths.” Doesn't the word “paths” refer to footways that have been treaded on by a lot of people? How reassured will we be as we walk the path that God is pointing? “Oh, this is the path that people who trusted in God walked!” How reassuring would it be if we walked such a path in our life?
Who is living life wisely? Who is wise, those who find their way on their own and those who follow the path that God has taught them? Who lives wisely? Are you a person who follows the path of the world? Or are you a person who cuts all trust and walks the path of people who trust in God?
Look at Job's friends. They were all smart people in their own way. However, they did not solve Job's problem at all. How about Job himself? Job was not a fool. Ladies and gentlemen, among the words of Job's memories of the past, there are these words: “At that time, when I went out into the city hall or took a seat in the square, the young men looked at me and stood aside, and the old men stood up and greeted me, but the elders also stopped speaking and covered their mouths with their hands (Job 29:7-9). “Why did the old people get up, and why did the elders stop what they were doing and cover their mouths? Because Job was a wise man. Job was a wise man who recognized him as the old man and the elders who had lived many lives. However, even Job, who was so wise, could not solve his problems properly. It wasn't that Job lacked wisdom. It is not because Job's friends are foolish. Essentially, it is our Heavenly Father who shows us the way.
So, trust in God. Acknowledge God in all things. When I saw this saying on NKJV, it said “In all your ways acknowledge Him”. To acknowledge God in all things is to acknowledge God in all our ways. No matter what I do, I don't do it my own way, but I want God's guidance. I broke all the bonds of trust that I had so far, held on to the bonds of trust in God, and said, “It is God, not me, who directs my life! God is in control of my life!” This is how it is declared.
Then, God will open the way as promised. It's a completely new road. It's a path I didn't expect at all. However, that path is the path of life. That path is the path of peace. That way is the way of righteousness. That path is a path for those who trust in God.