“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3: 5-6).”
For a period of time in my early twenties, I would drive to St. Pete College and listen to Christian radio. Frequently I would here Christians share how powerful it was for them to memorize verses of scripture. “Whenever I needed them most, God would bring the verses to mind!” For a while I would write scriptures on pieces of paper and tape them to my dashboard or my mirror at home and commit them to memory. I have to say that, though I am not a good word for word memorizer, God has used these memory verses to speak to me when I really needed to hear it.
The Proverbs verse above has been one of my favorite memory verses. When we go through periods of change as individuals and as a whole church family, especially as we plan to relocate and rebuild Lakeside by August 2017, these verses are a powerful reminder that, trusting in God’s guidance is far more important than trusting in our own feelings and thoughts. We are the ant, looking at how high our ant mound is, while God sees how the entire universe works together by the direction of his hands! We see the small picture as it relates to us, and God sees the big picture as it relates to the universe.
These verses also remind us the importance of submitting our desires and understandings regarding our present circumstances to God’s directions for us. Whenever there is a conflict between our way and God’s way we must trust and obey our loving heavenly Father. As the old hymn reminds us, “Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
May we encourage one another to trust the Lord with our whole heart! Drop me a line and let me know how to pray for you at clashbrook@lakesidefellowship.
Peace and Joy,
Pastor Cameron