Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Many people want to know God’s Will for their life and most of the time the focus is on “God tell me so I can go do it”. What if the focus became God being the guide and leading us as we follow Him? But that would require trust and trust is a real problem in our society. Proverbs 3:5-6 are classic bible verses promising the Christian that God does guide, they start with us trusting in the Lord with all our heart, this means that we are willing to:

• Get on Board

Before you can go sailing you have to get on board the boat, and that requires that you trust in both the boat and the captain. Getting on board is an act of faith and if you want to find God’s will you first have to put your trust in Him. In your heart you have to answer the question, “Is God trustworthy?” and “Am I willing to let God guide my life?”

In the Old Testament we have many examples of people of faith. Noah was a man of faith, and God told Noah to build a huge boat large enough to hold a zoo full of animals. Noah got on board with God’s plan because he trusted God. He began building the boat on dry land and he was obedient to God even though there was no large body of water around. By faith Noah was preparing for a flood, not because it looked like one was coming but because He believed God when he said one was. Noah and his family were laughed at by all in the community, at first trusting and following God seemed silly, but Noah trusted and continued to build by faith. To get on board requires trusting God with all of our heart, even when His plan doesn’t make sense. Many times we make halfhearted attempts to follow God simply because we do not fully trust Him. Jonah didn’t like God’s plan for His life so he tried to jump ship and head in a different direction. What ship are you on?

• Lean on Him

The natural out flow of trusting in God is leaning on Him. Often we will say we are trusting God but the practical reality is that we are still leaning on our own ability. In the sailing analogy this is setting the sail, trusting God is getting on board with His plan, but once we are on board we have to lean into His Will. Setting the sail takes it to the next level, it is acknowledging the Lord and surrendering to His will, this is putting our faith into action. There are some people who argue with God. “When God made me He made a big mistake!” “My life has no meaning.” There are others who get angry with God. They refuse to set the sail so they drift, going nowhere in life. Without God in your life your life has no ultimate purpose. You can only know God’s plan by accepting Him as Your guide and acknowledging Him as the Captain and Master of your life. A sailboat rudder is useless while the sails are down because without the wind filling the sails there is now power to direct our life and we are not really heading anywhere.  God provides the wind to fill the sails and give us momentum and direction in life.

Sometimes God wants to change our course and when the wind changes we need to be ready to come bout. Sometimes we can feel His winds of change ahead of time but often they seem to catch us unaware but we are not unprepared because His wind always provides the needed forward momentum so the rudder can provide the change of course. But you can’t go any direction until the wind fills the sails. There are some people who refuse to alter their course even when they know that God is making it clear that it’s time to go in a new direction. You can’t afford to hang onto some good thing you have now, and run the risk of missing God’s best. Sometimes out on the sea of life the fog rolls in and we get confused, there are all sorts of voices shouting orders into the night, telling us what to do, how to adjust our lives. Out of the darkness, one voice signals something quite opposite to the rest, something almost absurd. Will we listen and allow God to fill the sail of our life?

• Follow His lead

He will make your paths straight, he will direct your steps. God gives you the privilege of making choices, and He gives you the choice to follow His will. When it comes to listening to the captain the wheel that controls the direction of your life is in your hands. Will you take hold of the wheel that controls the rudder and steer your life following God as your guide? Think back to five years ago, would you have dreamed five years ago that you would be doing now what you are doing today? Would you have anticipated world events or economic changes that are happening now? God knew, it was not a surprise to Him. Are you fearful about your future? Is it time to give your future to God? Will you follow His lead living one day at a time, completely surrendered to His will? Here is the key, don’t lean on your understanding, trust God, and acknowledge that He is the One who is working in your life. Don’t give God half-hearted trust, give Him whole-hearted trust, it’s time to get on board.

Isaiah 26:3-4

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! 4 Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

In part I we were reminded of where peace comes from and we had to ask ourselves who we are looking to and trusting in? We were confronted with the greatest question of all: Have you begun your pursuit of peace, have you trusted in the promise of eternal life made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Verse 4 is the logical assertion of the truth of verse 3, “Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” If it is true that trust in God results in a steadfast mind which is kept in peace, then everyone should be urged to trust in the Lord. The cry of the redeemed should be for all men to place their trust in the One through whom redemption and peace is found. Trust involves a renouncing of confidence in you or in any other and placing complete reliance upon Yahweh alone.  If you truly desire hope and peace in this life then you have to wrestle with the question in who have you place your confidence, is it in God?  We cannot obtain peace on our own because our minds are unstable and rest upon nothing solid, nothing eternal. The human heart by its very nature is not stable, our mind is prone to waver and change with every shifting wind of thinking and teaching. The stated reason to trust God is because He is the eternal rock the Rock of Ages. The Lord God is the rock who endures forever, He is the eternal One, the only Rock upon which eternal life can be built. All the assaults and aberrations of time itself cannot change or alter God, He alone stands sure and enduring. The truth that no matter what happens the Everlasting Rock is there for you is your priceless possession. In an uncertain world God is the only firm and tested foundation upon which we can rest. Are you abiding in the firm and constant foundation? Are you resting on the Rock Eternal and unchangeable, preserved in His perfect peace, or are you trying to run through the changing quicksand of human opinion?

Peace can only be found in the Eternal God who has revealed Himself through the Bible, will you trust in Him who was, who is, and who is to come? He is the Rock of Ages, a firm and lasting foundation for faith and hope upon whom to build your life. The words to the old hymn “Rock of Ages” were written by the Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady in 1763 when he was travelling along a gorge and was caught in a storm. Finding shelter in a gap in the gorge, he was struck by the title “Rock of Ages” and in the midst of the storm he scribbled down the initial lyrics in the sheltered of the fissure.

“Rock of Ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labors of my hands Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

These for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone:

In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling.

While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyes shall close in death,

When I rise to worlds un-know, And behold Thee on Thy throne,

Rock of Ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.” – Toplady

The house that is built on the eternal rock will provide and protect in any storm and those that trust in God not only find in Him, but receive from Him, everlasting strength. This same strength that carries them through life will also carry them into everlasting life, into that blessedness which is forever and ever. Are you ready to trust God every day and never cast away or lose confidence in Him? Have you found peace with God? For those that do, God offers a relationship that leads to experiencing more and more of the peace of God in the here and now of our daily living. God is aware of your circumstances, but He calls you to live above not beneath your circumstances. He calls you to a steadfast confidence in Him and in His Word. Regardless of our circumstances we serve a God whose strength is as limitless as His love, and who has purposed to bless all those who will commit themselves to Him. Will you focus your mind and your life on God and trust Him? If you do the peace of God which surpassed all understanding will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. The issue of trust is always the key, in whom or what are you trusting? The answer to that question is found in the reality, the extent, and depth of the peace you are currently experiencing. When we repose upon the Lord we find that place of rest and the mind that rests upon Him is the mind that takes refuge in Him. Is He your Rock of Ages?