Decisions do not come easy for me as I fear being wrong. Fear can immobilize me every time as I do not want to make a bad decision, especially when its impact will be felt by those I love.
Such was the case recently.
Waking early as is my custom, opening to the scheduled reading, the words are splayed before me:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)
I noticed the word tenses. “Trust in the Lord” (verse 5) – present tense. “… and he will show you …” (verse 6) – future tense. While we must trust Him in the moment, moment by moment, and in every moment, it does not mean that He will show me now in this moment. There are times the answer does not come immediately, or in the time frame I desire.
The questions begin quietly, in the recesses of my mind, but they are there none the less. “Are you willing to wait for Me to show you? And when I show you, will you trust Me?”
He had truly put His finger on the pulse of this – Why do we have such a hard time waiting for Him to give us an answer or to show us what is best?
I get up to grab another mug of coffee to mull this over a bit before the start of my day. Waiting demands me to trust Him. Trust is built up over time and as I wait on Him, trusting Him to show me, I am at the same time growing in my trust of God.
But then fear, coupled with doubt, begins to threaten my trust. The questions begin circulating in my head:
- Will He give me the desired outcome?
- Does He truly know my desires at this time?
- Does He realize how disappointed we will all be if this doesn’t work out?
Are you waiting on Him at this time? Are you trusting Him? If the answer should be a while in coming, will you forge ahead, or will you continue to wait on Him?
These may seem like simple questions to answer, but can often prove to be challenging. Waiting will also require that we not “depend on our own understanding” and go ahead with what seems to make sense to us.
As I sat writing and thinking on all of this, the words to an old song (hymn) came back to me:
“Learning to lean
Learning to lean
I’m learning to lean on Jesus
Finding more power than I’ve ever dreamed
I’m learning to lean on Jesus.”
For an entire week, we weighed the matter from every angle possible, or at least, from what was visible. Advice had been offered to think the matter through, digging as deeply into the situation as we were able.
And so, on that particular morning, with my index card in hand, I set out to uncover answers to the questions looming. The index card filled me with the assurance God had our back. He had our best interest at heart, even if the outcome was not as we desired.
This trusting, waiting, and not depending on ourselves can be a challenge at times. Often it is the most difficult of choices we make. Yet it is the way we grow and our lives bear fruit.
May we grow in our ability to wait on Him,
trusting Him in all things,
and not depending on our own understanding.
Today I am joining … #DreamTogether and Moments of Hope and Inspire Me Monday and #RaRaLinkup .
I’m blessed to read these words, Jo. I pray that I am obedient, to “wait,” “lean”, “trust.”
Me too, Bev. None of the three is easy but life is oh so much better when we do!
Dear Sister in Christ, these are the very questions I pondered in my quiet time this morning (but with a different text)! The Proverbs exhortation has long been a favorite of mine, but I’d never noticed the switch in verb tenses. That makes all the difference! And don’t you love that old hymn? Your sharing is helping to calm my spirit and corral my wayward thoughts. Blessings!
Dear Alice,
I am not sure I had ever noticed the verb tenses before but they so stood out from the other words this morning. The Lord knows exactly what we need to see in His Word. And yes, the hymn, I have been humming it for days now. I am grateful that anything shared brought you calm. Truly that was the Lord. May He bless you deeply with His peace!
Love this. I understand about being frozen with fear. God has helped me though and I thank you for sharing your heart. We can never hear His truth enough.
Just when I think I am free of fear, it can raise its head at times. It always reminds me of my constant need of Jesus.
I will be singing that song for days now and that’s a good thing! My dad used to sing that with a trio way back in the day. I remember one of the verses (or think I do)
This joy, I can’t explain
Thrills my soul
Since the day I mad Jesus my king
He helps me with each task
If only I’ll ask
Each day now, I’m learning to lean
Thanks for the beautiful reminder to trust Him! (And I could have mixed the verses together, lol) ♥ï¸
Good grief! That should read MADE Jesus my king not mad 😥 So sorry.
Nannette, I so love when you comment as you surely make me smile. I love that your dad sang this song in a trio. And I love that you shared words to another verse. You made me search for the words and you actually blended two verses 🙂
“The joy I can’t explain fills my soul,
Since the day I made Jesus my King;
His blessed Holy Spirit is leading my way,
He’s teaching and I’m learning to lean.
There’s glorious vict’ry each day now for me,
I found His peace so serene;
He helps me with each task if only I’ll ask;
Ev’ry day now I’m learning to lean.”
But you know what? There’s truth in your “version” as well because from the day we make Jesus our King, He truly does help us with each task!”
Let’s just lean on Him, all of our days! xo
I, too, fear being wrong when I make a decision-even a simple one like where to have dinner if my husband takes me out. This isn’t a hymn I’m familiar with, but it’s a good one. Thanks for the encouragement.
Debbie, this is an old, old hymn. I am probably dating myself real good 🙂 It’s what happens when your mom is the piano/organ player and as a kid you get dragged to church for every service!!! So very grateful now as an adult for sure!!!
https://youtu.be/7dHBtdsAGW8
Trusting, waiting, not depending on ourselves – whew!! So hard to do, but easier when you realize how very much God loves you. We can trust Him!
It is easier to say than do for sure. So grateful He even helps us to trust Him. He is so very patient with us!
We have so many decisions that we have to make every single day. Sigh. I get decision-fatigue from time to time myself.
This is good for me to remember: “It does not mean that He will show me now in this moment.” I don’t have to know everything right now; just enough for this step. Thanks, Joanne!
Lisa, I like the way you worded it – decision fatigue. That is the perfect description! I am so very grateful He gives us the strength and energy for decisions.
Wait.
What is that?
We are told that we can have it all right now.
What a lie that is isn’t it?
And then we wonder why we have no joy or peace.
We have to get off the path our society has told us that will make us happy to actually find the Path that does indeed bring everlasting Peace.
Wait is indeed the ultimate four letter word… ha ha!
Gypsy, it is amazing the subtle lies we can absorb. I am so grateful that God shows us exactly what we need even if it means waiting. May we be wise and replace lies with the truth of His Word. xo
It’s hard, isn’t it? We have something pending/looming….also.
I read your comment yesterday but didn’t get around to responding. However, I have been praying for you, Susan. May God give you wisdom and understanding to handle the situation yet to come. He is so faithful to guide us! {{Hugs!}}
Amen, Joanne. I just did a devotion on this passage for a group. I love how it focuses on the heart – because that’s what God looks at. Whatever steps we take, and I fear taking the wrong one, if our hearts are turned towards him, he will make our paths straight.
Amen, Rachel! And as our hearts are turned towards Him, all fear is gone!