Leaning on What?

Proverbs 3:1-8

Several years ago, I was in Southern California headed from my hotel to the airport to fly back home. I knew my way to LAX but turned on the navigational equipment in the rental car just to be extra sure. I was traveling on a familiar expressway when the navigational voice told me to turn off up ahead. “What?” I thought. That’s not right. Not only had I lived in Southern California for several years, I drove a tow truck there. I was very familiar with the roads. I knew I was right and the digital voice of the so called “expert” was wrong.

I’m not a big fan of technology so with great pleasure I turned off the navigational voice and proceeded down the expressway. Well, what do you know, soon I started seeing signs for lane closures and mergers due to construction. Before I knew it, we were down to one lane with bumper-to-bumper traffic as far as the eye could see. Oops! Maybe I should have listened.

One of the most familiar Proverbs states, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. In the ancient world they did not have nice roads like we have today. The best roads were flat and straight. Today we might think about a nicely paved road to cruise down.

Certainly, that’s what we want, right? Our concern here is not that people are wanting to do bad things. We desire very much to do the right thing for God. The issue is about whose wisdom is going to lead us to that road. We know the right answer, it’s God’s wisdom. The question is do we know God’s wisdom?

There are plenty of people who are determined to do life their way. They could care less what God has to say. They live as fools with no desire to change that. But that’s not you. Why would you take the time to read this blog if you didn’t want to listen and learn? But here’s the problem. Do we know what God has to say? In other words, if I’m not going to lean on my own understanding, then where do I turn for wisdom? How can I lean on what God has said if I don’t know what God has said? How can I acknowledge God in all His ways if I don’ know His ways?

It’s one thing to hear the voice of the navigational system in the car and ignore it. That’s what I did. It’s quite another to not even realize it’s available in the car. Help is right there. Just turn it on and listen. More and more Christians today could be described as biblically illiterate. They may go to church each week and genuinely want to follow Jesus. But they are going to struggle if they don’t know what God has said. If we’re unaware of what is in the Bible, then we are left to lean on our own understanding. That’s not good.

A lack of awareness of what God has said in His Word has always been a problem. However, it’s a much bigger problem today and growing. To be blunt, far too many Christians are leaning on their own understanding and getting it wrong. They may be very sincere, but sincerity doesn’t somehow compensate for a lack of truth.

We need to do better than that. If God has graciously given us His revelation in a book to guide our lives, then we need to read it. If we’re going to trust Him and not lean on our own understanding, then we need to understand what He has said so we can lean on Him.  

Do you really believe that leaning on your own understanding won’t work? Then we must roll up our sleeves and commit ourselves to learning and understanding God’s Word. That’s where we find the roadmap to the straight path.

Jesus said, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Skillful living requires that we spend regular time in God’s Word. If we don’t then all we have is our own understanding and that won’t cut it. 

I’ve maintained now for years that many Christians don’t really believe what they say they believe. If we did our lives would look different. Proverbs 3:5, 6 is one of the most familiar texts in all the Bible. But if you are going to take it seriously then you must be a diligent student of God’s Word. You can’t stand on God’s truth if you don’t know what that truth is. 

I would suggest a goal of getting into God’s Word four times every week. This can include a weekend sermon, a small group discussion or your own personal study time. Skillful living requires wisdom and wisdom is found in God’s Word. Make that a habit this year and see what happens. Who knows, you may discover the path for which you’ve been searching.