Encouragements for our troubled times No. 09
COVID-19 Series | Date: 21 May 2020
The Elders and Deacons want to encourage the members and those who regularly meet with us through this weekly letter. If you have news which you would be happy to share with the fellowship or request for prayer, then please let us know.
A message from your Pastor
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
At a time like this, it is very easy to think that our future is uncertain and that everything is chaotic and out of control, but we know we have a sovereign God who is in control of all things and Who knows what He is doing and what is best for each one of us. How can we, then, cope with life and all of its uncertainties? Our text this week, from God’s book of wisdom, spells it out for us.
Firstly, we should ‘trust in the Lord with all our hearts’. We should put our complete and entire trust in Him and in all that He is; in His wisdom, for He knows all things and knows what is best; in His love, for He is all love and all He does is done in love because of His great love for us; in His power, for it is almighty and nothing is beyond Him or can thwart Him and He is working all together for our good; in His goodness, kindness and faithfulness towards us. Trust in the Lord Who is ever with us, Who sees all things, Whose Word cannot fail and Who always keeps His promises to us. Trust in Him with all your heart entirely, nothing doubting. Put all your confidence in Him knowing that He Who is faithful will also do it.
Secondly, we should ‘lean not on our own understanding‘. How easy it is to tell ourselves that we are trusting our God, when, in fact, we lean on ourselves and our abilities, strengths and wisdom. Our own understanding is limited to the things of this world and our puny abilities, but our God is not like us; He knows no limitations and can do all things. His plans and purposes for us are based on Him and His ability to do what He wills. We must not, therefore, limit Him to what we think can or must be done, nor think that we know best; nor should we lose heart because, to us, everything seems to be out of control or impossible. We must not lean on our own understanding but on Him.
Thirdly, we should ‘in all our ways acknowledge Him’. We should in all our ways appreciate and submit to the One who is in every way far superior to us, higher than us and greater than us; we must acknowledge His power, His love, His wisdom, His mercy, His faithfulness, His truthfulness and all that He is; we must acknowledge His sovereign authority and right to do all His good pleasure with us in and through our lives; we must acknowledge the absolute authority of His Word over us in all matters of life and faith. In all our ways we must acknowledge Him.
We shall then know the fulfilment of this wonderful promise in our lives: ‘He shall direct our path’. What a wonderful promise this is. He will show us the way that we should go and every step that we should take by His Word, that lamp to our feet and light to our path; by His Spirit who lives within us to guide us in the paths of righteousness; and by His own presence, accompanying us all the days of our lives.