Scary Trust - Bible Plan Verse #7

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ NLT)

Read it again.

Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ERV)

WHAT STICKS OUT?

Trust only in God

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

>>>OVER PREPARED HIKER<<<

If you asked a bunch of Christians if they trust in God, I'd expect they would all say yes. But we're probably thinking on a grand scale like trusting God in your eternal salvation or that the sun will come up tomorrow. What about your daily life? How are you trusting in God just in this moment? Be specific to your life right now without using generalities that apply to all Christians.

If it takes a while to come up with an answer, that probably means you're only trusting God to keep the universe running. You believe God has an ultimate plan for you, but it's up to you to get through the day. Our daily trust is not in God but in what we know and plan. We develop a routine so we don't even have to think about it any more. Unfortunately that leaves no room for God to do anything outside of our plans for control. Our personal understanding of our surroundings becomes a protective bubble we use to prevent anything unexpected from happening. While we may prevent some bad things, we are also blocking a lot of good things too. It's like we carry an enormous backpack of contingency plans that slows us down. This pack is our insurance against our fears of what could happen when all we need is to pack for the one plan that matters: God's plan. If you truly believe God is for you then you don't need to over-pack. Do your actions show that you trust in God or yourself?

>>>FREE CLIMBER<<<

A free climber can't be weighed down by a hundred pounds of camping supplies and still scale a smooth mountain face. In the same way a Christian can't try to be in control of everything and still fully trust in God. If you've ever complained about not experience God in your life, perhaps you've never let Him do any of the planning. When you let Him take control He will take you places that you aren't prepared for, but that's how you develop that trust in God. Trust in God takes us higher and farther than what should be possible. What is happening in your life right now that can only be explained by the results of trusting in God?

Top Secret Peace Plan - Bible Plan Verse #6

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ NLT)

Read it again.

And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ERV)

WHAT STICKS OUT?

God's unimaginable peace

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

>>> TARP OF UNDERSTANDING <<<

This verse tells us that God's peace is more than we can understand. We have some ideas about peace, but it's limited by what we see and understand like it's hidden or covered. The Holy Spirit showed me this as a heavy, military-grade, cloth tarp draped over some kind of equipment. The cloth wraps around the thing it covers so that you can almost guess what's under it, but you're not quite sure. You believe it's something great but it's like a top secret project that you're not allowed to see. Many times that's what happens with God's peace. Our limited understanding, our self centered view of the world, covers up God's true peace like a thick tarp. God's peace is still under there, but we have a hard time seeing it.

>>> THE LITTLE ZIPPER <<<

I recently got a pair of pants with a button fly. It's made me realize how nice and simple it is to have a zipper. Wouldn't it be nice to have a simple zipper to open up that heavy tarp that's covering the fullness of God's peace? Actually we do! You'll notice the zipper has the initials THX. If you didn't know, that's a shorthand version of the word "Thanks." We learn from the verse right before this one (Philippians 4:6) that thankfulness to God is the simple solution to unzip God's peace.

>>> HAND OF PEACE <<<

How can you draw a picture of peace without relying on a symbol like the dove or international sign for peace? Peace is a funny word because it's easier to define by what it is not. Go ahead, just try to describe peace without calling it "not war or fighting or violence." Even this verse tells us that God's peace will guard your thoughts and feelings. This idea makes me think of a shield which is a tool for war. Using weapons of war to describe peace is limiting God's peace to what our minds can handle.

Recently my wife was overwhelmed by her To-Do List so she began meditating on this verse for well over a week. She found that when she focused on thanking God, it wasn't that her problems went away, but it was like God pulled her out of her problems to understand His perspective. It was like He lifted her high up out of the mud so she could see what God saw. And what did He show her? That He is bigger than your problems. That He has taken care of them before you even saw them coming. You struggle to find peace when you are trying to manage what's going around you because you do not have that power to control the world. But God does! When you truly see God for how big He is and trust in Him instead of yourself, your problem don't destroy your peace. Your problems point you to the Prince of Peace.

Day 291

Day 288

[Text from image: Stuff we think is important: my circle of influence = my work, helping close friends, my heritage, eternal life, my skills. Stuff Jesus said was important: know God, do His will.]

Day 283

[Text from image: "What he says is too hard to understand." - "Are you leaving too?" - "Where else are we gonna go? You are the one that gives eternal life."]

Day 151

1 Corinthians 13:12

1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me. (GOD'S WORD® Translation)

Notes from "The Letters to the Corinthians" by William Barclay: Corinth was famous for its manufacture of mirrors. But the modern mirror as we know it, with its perfect reflection, did not emerge until the thirteen century. The Corinthian mirror was made of highly polished metal and, even at its best, gave but an imperfect reflection. It has been suggested that what this phrase means is that we see as through a window made with horn. That was the material used for making windows in those days, and all that could be seen through them was a dim shadowy outline. In fact, the Rabbis had a say that it was through such a window that Moses saw God.