Proverbs 3:5-6. 5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Are you making any New Year’s resolutions this year?
Tomorrow is the new year and many people will be making new year’s resolutions. Promises that we make to ourselves about some way that we will do better or try harder in the upcoming year. For example: I will try to exercise more. I will try to read my Bible more. I will try to be nicer to my neighbors.
There’s nothing wrong with making promises to yourself. But the truth is we are all extremely likely to break every one of these well intended commitments, aren’t we? Way more important than making resolutions or promises to ourselves is trusting the promises that God has made to us.
We shouldn’t trust ourselves; we should trust God! That’s what this most beloved of proverbs teaches us. Let’s break it down.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart – God wants our trust. Honestly, God has earned our trust through the cross of Christ. If God would send his only Son to die for us, if we can trust him to do the hardest thing ever, then we can definitely trust him with everything else in our lives can’t we? Yes, we can.
do not lean on your own understanding – counting on what we can understand with our finite minds is a big mistake. We don’t know the future. We can’t consider all the contingencies. We don’t have the insight into the hearts and minds of others. We have no idea the extent of the ripple effect of each and every choice we make. But God does. The truth is that there is only one thing we can really know for sure, and that is that God loves us. How do we know? Again, because of the cross of Jesus.
In all your ways acknowledge him – Or, in everything you do, know him. What if you started seeing everything you do, no matter how small or how large, as an opportunity to know God and his grace? Wow! What kind of difference do you think that would make in your life? How might your reactions change? Your perspectives? Your motivations too?
he will make straight your paths – we all need God to guide us through life. The gospel is our map and the Spirit of Christ is our guide. The gospel declares that we are saved by Jesus, not by the good works that we have done, but simply by his grace and forgiveness. We don’t earn God’s love and kindness; we simply receive it. When we forget this most fundamental of truths our path gets crooked, never straight. But when we are brought to the remembrance of the grace and mercy of God in saving us through our union with Christ, well, that is a path that will never cause you to stumble.
You: So what are your New Year’s resolutions?
You in Christ: How does the cross of Christ prove that we can trust God in all our ways, and with all our hearts?
Christ in you: What commitment to remembering your gracious salvation can you make for this upcoming new year?
Pray: Father, let this be a year of increased trust in you and your gospel of grace in Christ. Amen.
To Live is Christ 