We Lean to our own Understanding at our own Peril
When we ignore the instruction given in Proverbs 3:5-6, and jump to a lot of wrong conclusions and then unwisely ACT on them, we do so at our own peril and often cause tremendous harm to the restoration of our marriages and families, which is particularly disheartening when so much progress has already been made. And since some of the FAM Fellowship members have made that mistake in the past week, I hope others can avoid doing the same thing by reading a previous Seeds Of Faith post by Dan, which is a powerful reminder that things are NOT always what they appear to be!
Beyond the harm caused when we lean to our own understanding and then REACT impulsively and totally contrary to the instructions God gives us, we are NOT trusting Him with ALL of our hearts, acknowledging Him in ALL of our ways, and certainly NOT taking our thoughts captive and MAKING them obedient to Jesus Christ and the Word. Therefore, we have no reason or right to expect the Lord to make our paths straight because that would be making a mockery of His Word, and God will NEVER allow that because He declared that His Word will NEVER return without doing what He desires and sent it to accomplish (Isaiah 55:10-11); and that’s NOT just a reference to the positive things promised in His Word, but the promised consequences when we fail to live by faith and to Do as instructed as well.
In fact, the harm and destruction caused when acting impulsively and unwisely when leaning to our own understanding is a powerful illustration of Jesus’ warning in Luke 6:46-49, where He made it VERY clear that if we hear His Words and DO NOT DO what He said, our houses will come down with a great crash and be utterly destroyed! And since leaning to our own understanding also means that we are NOT doing as instructed in order to win the spiritual warfare now being waged against us and our marriages by taking arguments and pretensions setting themselves up against the knowledge of God captive and making them obedient to Christ and the Word, we also have no reason to believe that we can or will win that battle either (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
But when we RESIST the devil (James 4:7) and stand in faith and obedience on the power and promise of God’s Word, He will make our paths straight and no matter what comes against our marriages and families, we will withstand the storms and win the battle for the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families! For truly, as the Lord says, the battle belongs to Him (2 Chronicles 20:15) and NO wisdom, NO insight and NO plan can succeed against Him (Proverbs 21:30)! But when we rely on our own wisdom and insight and then take matters into our own hands, we walk and act in pride and as warned; God OPPOSES the proud (1 Peter 5:5-6) and pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18.
And even IF the understanding we are leaning to is totally correct, we can and have to avoid destructive behavior and attitudes by DOING as Jesus taught in Matthew 5 and as powerfully illustrated and further explained in 1 Peter 2:18-25. And the only way to DO that is to DO as Jesus did by entrusting ourselves to him who judges justly. That means submitting ourselves to God as we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, and then the devil will flee and God will lift us up in DUE time! And it’s impossible to miss the vital importance of Peter’s instructions in the above passage when it is the very passage referred to in the instructions given to both husbands and wives in 1 Peter 3, which affirms and further expounds upon it as well.
After writing this last night, I couldn’t help appreciating the Lord’s perfect timing and confirmation once again when I read the following message from Glenn Jackson. It’s short and to the point, but IF we would learn to PRACTICE it, we would indeed be the most blessed and encouraged of God’s people, and we would indeed see the glory of the Lord displayed as He moves heaven and earth to restore our marriages and families!
EXHORTATIONS FROM THE FATHER [Reflections Of The Father’s Heart]
December 11th 2008
+ To lose sight of Me is to lose all “assurance”. To be in a position wherein one cannot hear My voice means certain “deception” in this most critical hour.
+ There is no “problem” for My children that “perfect obedience” [absolute faith-perfect love] cannot eliminate. Therefore the only “problem” My children have is disobedience.
You can visit Glenn’swebsite to read all of his messages online or to sign up to receive them by email; he tells it like it is! Praise the Lord!
Thank you so much for this post; it could not have come at a better time. I have seen how God has truly worked miracles over the past months and yet I took my eyes off of Him and started leaning on my own understanding. I reacted to my wife in a way that was not glorifying to God; it was hurtful and out of pride and my own understanding of how “I should handle things” when I found out that my wife is now living with the NCP. I realize that I was not truly walking in full faith in spite of all God had shown me.
I was distraught and feared that I had done irreprable damage to my marriage in the way that I reacted; I realize that I was not showing unconditional love and still holding on to the impression that there was something I could do to change things. And God revealed to me that I was not spending enough time in the word and definetly not as involved in this ministry as I should have been.
Despite my failure, I know that God will use this for His good. He revealed to me that there is still a lot of work that He needs to do in me and He has shown me how important it is for me to stay in the word and to put all of my trust in Him and not in my will, or my understanding.
The Lord is so faithful to fulfill his Word; not letting any of it fall to the ground…not even one small part. It seems I keep getting the message that he requires me to obey; standing in faith and to just believe him. I have to stand and watch what his salvation looks like in my life, and how when I believe on the Lord Jesus, I and my household will be saved (Acts 16:31 and Acts 11:14).
Thankyou for encouraging us to stay in the Word and to believe God. As I do this, life keeps getting better with more and more freedom becoming apparent. So be encouraged to keep the faith, fellow standers!