November 18

“Be still and wait, God will show you clearly and simply, if you are willing to follow His instructions.  He knows whether or not you and I are willing..... So, if He knows us to be unwilling in some perplexing matter, what would be the point in giving directions until He has brought us by a means of His own, to the point of willingness?  He will never add to your confusion.”  Eugenia Price, S.P.S., 10/28

This is a wonderful point!  Often, when I am confused, I ask God to pick one of the explanations I’ve provided Him in my multiple-choice quiz.  Sometimes I will have no choices to offer and simply ramble off my confusing thoughts hoping God will make some sense out of them and set me straight.  Now I understand why I sometimes do not get a clear-cut answer from Him.  If I’m not willing to obey the answer, then why bother telling me!  In fact, I think my confusion is caused by the fact that I’ve left the path of obedience looking for my own answers.  It’s on that side road that I become disoriented and confused.  But rather than turn around and head back to the point where I left the path, I try to find my way back through the woods.  No wonder I get lost in the dense underbrush.  Eugenia is reminding me that my job isn’t to figure things out, but instead to be willing to obey.  Once God knows I am willing, He is able to set me straight and lead me through whatever darkness may have clouded my vision. 

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Proverbs 3:5, 6 

November 4

“Faith in man and faith in God are precisely the same thing in their nature; the difference consists only in the different persons believed in.  Faith in man links us to and makes us one with mere humanity; faith in God links us to and makes us one with divinity.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 10/14

So whom do you trust?  I think we all want to trust in a higher being--at least until we start to feel uncomfortable because we can’t see what’s going on.  That’s when we climb up over the fence that’s blocking our view to take care of things ourselves.  Then when we take matters into our own hands we are trusting ourselves and anyone else we may need along the way to help us take care of the matter.  Meanwhile, we may delude ourselves into thinking we are still trusting God because we continue to pray about it and seek God’s will.  But you say, “Wait a minute here....are you saying I should just sit back and do nothing?!”  No, I’m not.  However, if you take a look at my example you will see where the first mistake is made:  what you do at the first sign of feeling uncomfortable.   Some of us run to the refrigerator to eat.  Some pick up the phone to garner sympathy from a friend or chew someone out.  Or we use our credit cards even though we know we can’t pay it off at the end of the month.  The list is endless.  Every one of those scenarios is a fence that we’re trusting to support us as we climb over feeling uncomfortable.  When will we realize that God puts those fences there so we’ll turn to Him?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Proverbs 3: 5. 6