Monday ~ June 11, 2012

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.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Who do we trust in? Do we trust in ourselves, our family, our economic system, our church or our Lord? The word Trust in Hebrew originally was lying helplessly face downwards. I don’t know about you but lying face down unable to see what’s going on around would make me feel very uneasy. I like to be in control but God wants us to trust him totally & give ourselves over to him.

Here in Ireland many know who Jesus was but do not realise that they can know & trust him. You know other people can let us down but God will never do that. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

We can not only trust God but have a personal relationship with him through Jesus. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 (NKJV) We need to do this with our whole heart, no holding back as He did not hold back anything of his Love for us when he died for us.

I have been through a difficult time over the past number of weeks seeking the Lord as to what he wants of me with my ministry. I have learnt not to lean on my own understanding, God knows his plans. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) Just in the past few weeks God has brought us into a new exciting phase of service. He has intervened in an amazing way and led me into a new faith based ministry in Ireland. This now involves the support of a team and a senior pastor that God has given the same heart & vision for the lost in the area I was working in.

Last week we had our first outreach meeting with 33 people turning up. Sixteen of those were from the local church but the rest were visitors. That night, God showed His encouragement and faithfulness with four people giving their lives to Jesus. This week we wait in expectation! I do not know what is around the corner or where the Lord will bring us but I do know that he is in control. It is because God is in control that we must be prepared to trust him totally in all aspects of our lives, in our health, in our finances but most of all let God do what he does best and that is lead us. We are like sheep we work best if we are led! I know at times we like to feel in control but if we hold onto areas of our lives without giving them over to God, then we will mess up! When we do who do we call upon?

In all our ways acknowledge Him. The children of Israel acknowledge him, And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. Exodus 2:25 they were also disobedient many times. That is why the Lord had them wondering about in the desert for 40 years, that’s why they were led into captivity because of their disobedience. If we go against God where do we find ourselves?

There is no better place that in the Lord’s perfect will. I am a Christian 34 years and went off & did things that I wanted to do, found excitement in the world but I had to take stock 13 years ago when I was critically ill. I had to acknowledge that I was not following the path that God had laid out for me. I was not being true to myself & to the Lord. Where do you find yourself today? Are you struggling? I realised back then that it was far better to be in the Lords will than to be struggling alone. I acknowledged God’s perfect will for my life and gave myself over to Him. The next day I met my beautiful wife who nursed me after surgery, a child of the lord too. I thank the lord for taking seriously ill as it led to me meeting Noreen, we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary in 2011 and have a son.

Acknowledge Gods lead in your life, submit to him and see where he leads you. In doing this God will direct your path & lead the way in everything you do in life. Trust and acknowledge him! Let God be in control. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3 (NKJV) God will ask a lot of us but it is nothing in comparison with what Jesus did for us. He told Peter, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now;” John 13:36 Jesus told us the path would be difficult. God will direct us and show us what he asks of us, he will direct us through his word & speak to our hearts.

The path is not easy but our heavenly shepherd will direct us. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7: 13-14 (NKJV) My prayer for each one of us is from the psalms; Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Psalm 25:4 (NKJV) Let that be your heartfelt prayer also!

Pastor Tony Meehan, Falls community Fellowship Belfast, Northern Ireland. www.sermon.net/tonymeehan