On the 14th of August 2016 the Evangelist Moloi shared the Proverbs 3:5 – 8 lesson with the congregation, which reads:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
What is trust?
According to the dictionary, trust means “firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something”. In the meaning of trust, there lies another key word, ‘belief’.
What is belief then?
Similarly, according to the dictionary, belief is “an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof”.
We know that trusting and believing is based on knowledge (not necessarily proof). Knowledge is very subjective and can be manipulated by various people to satisfy evil ends. So then, when one has to trust in the Lord with all their heart, they have to do it with the knowledge and understanding of how the Lord works. If you do not understand how the Lord works, anyone can come and tell you that to do a certain thing, or to walk a certain path is God’s will, and you have to trust that the Lord will walk with you that path, you will accept it and do it. What if it is not true? Who is going to save you?
You have to know the Lord, know how he works, and once you do, it becomes easier to Trust in this Lord.
Trust in the Lord fortunately, or unfortunately, comes with wisdom. Wisdom comes with knowledge. Knowledge comes with information. Information comes only if you seek it. There is only one place where information about the Lord sits, the Bible. Read the bible, seek to understand its message, when you do, you will have some understanding of the Lord, and when you do, it will become easier to give into him without being manipulated by those who use the name of the Lord in vein.
Now that you have the knowledge, the understanding, and the wisdom, it is supposed to be easier to put your trust in the Lord. But unfortunately, a lot is us, once we believe we have wisdom, we tend to rely more on it than on the Lord. In turn we take personal glory on things and we want to be the ones who are relied on. The scripture reminds us not to rely on our own wisdom, but in the Lord.
Indeed, God wants us to be wise, for that way, we contribute in making this world a better place to be. But the Lord also reminds us in Proverbs 1:7 that the first step to wisdom is fearing the Lord. So wisdom that does not have the fear of the Lord is not wisdom, is something more like being streetwise, not wisdom as in how the Lord wants to see it.
However do we know if we are now too reliant on our own wisdom?
When we embark on fundamental activities without inviting the Lord.
When we take personal glory of the great things we produce.
When we do things that are contrary to the commands given in the bible.
When we sin.
It is easy to do these things without even noticing. That is why scriptures like this one are so important to be taught from time to time as a reminder to all of us.
Let us all be wise by fearing the Lord. Let us all be wise by knowing the Lord. Let us all be wise by Trusting in the Lord. Let us invite God often in our missions, projects, activities and engagements. Let us praise the Lord for the strength that he gives us to prevail. Let us glorify the Lord for he is faithful. As we put our truth in him, we are also remind that he puts his trust in us. As he puts his trust in us, he lets us achieve more, and as we achieve more, we glorify him more.
We thank the Lord of this week’s soul food. We thank Evangelist Moloi for being God’s servant in delivering the message in Phelindaba. God’s name be glorified.
Original Post: https://sites.google.com/site/ubcjesuschrist/student-of-the-month