Here is one passage we talked about today at our Bible study:
Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.
“ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear[b] when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8
There’s a lot to think about from that poem. The question we talked about was, how do you know if you’re depending on God or man (or self) when you make decisions on a daily basis? It’s not wrong to ask others for counsel, but we do not want to rely on the “arm of flesh,” as Jeremiah puts it. We started out with two thoughts, but maybe you can think of others.
- First, we should examine when we think about God, and pray to God. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek God’s kingdom first. And Proverbs 3:7 tells us to “acknowledge” God in all our ways. We know we should be thinking about God, and we know that God uses big events (crises) to bring us to him, but if all is well at home we can sometimes go for a long time without even thinking about God. Instead, we should be aware of Him, thanking Him throughout the day, and remembering that without Him, we can do nothing.
- Second, we should examine what we do when we get advice. If we accept advice without ever questioning whether it will work in our home, then we may be guilty of trusting in men rather than God. When we credit an author or person for changing our lives (“So-and-so’s book has changed my life”), we may be guilty of trusting in men rather than God.
Any other thoughts?
These are great words to live by. I am quick to take advice becuase I think the person is godly and “has it all together” ( which we know not anyone does!) rather than really stopping and pondering and praying to God to see if it’s even what He would have me do. I guess that is why is so important to measure everything against His Word as our Plumbline. In my mind, I always want to do this, but in reality I lack the discipline to pray as often as I should. It reminds me of a story of an 86 year old man who had knee surgery because he had been on his knees praying hour after hour every day, wearing his poor knees out. Praying that often and being that in tune with God surely would help us trust in God and not man.