Trust the Lord with all your heart and do not lean

on your own understanding. In all your ways

acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

This morning on the radio, I heard someone talking about how they were such a great mom before they had kids. She was never going to say, “Because I said so”. But then she had kids and found herself saying those very words on more than one occasion. As she reflected on this, she compared it to God and why He might be saying these words to His children. Like parents want their children to learn obedience, God wants His children to learn obedience as well. As children often do, we may question Him or resist Him when He tells us to do something we don’t feel like doing. Like forgive or resist gossip, or spend time with Him. We resist for the same reason our own children resisted doing what we told them to do…we want to be in control. We don’t want to deny ourselves…it doesn’t feel good. In the moment we may not care or even think about what will happen if we keep resisting. And God is saying, “Do it because I am God and I said so”.

Thankfully God is patient and kind. He is slow to anger and abounding in love. He understands we are weak, but is unwilling to leave us there. He draws us to Himself…to listen, to trust and to obey. This is what He says to us and to our prodigals:

Trust Me because I know what you don’t know. You are limited in what you can see, but I am limitless. As long as you focus on this world, you will not get this. The world blinds you. When you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me. You must seek and keep on seeking. It’s a daily action, even hourly at times. I will keep drawing you and not give up on you because I love you…it’s real and its big and it’s all-encompassing! You are a treasure, you just don’t know it yet! When you trust Me, I direct your path. When you seek Me, you find Me. When you cease living for yourself and relying on your own understanding, I take over and the journey is easier. When you rest in My presence, you receive peace and rest. You enjoy life more. You find that the things you resisted doing aren’t as hard to do because the things you thought you wanted no longer hold your attention. They have faded into the background. This doesn’t happen all at once but little by little as I guide and direct you. When you trust Me, it’s not hard to obey Me. As you look at Me rather than the world, You become caught up in My love. In silence, you let Me love you.

God is drawing our prodigals now and He is not giving up on them. He is saying these words to them and we pray they will hear His voice and not harden their hearts. They are His treasure, they just don’t know it yet!

Proverbs 3:5-6 is a promise for us given to us by the Promiser, God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, promises often look like contradictions. You may look at your circumstances and say, “God, what are you doing?” Now you can say, “Oh that’s right, You are doing what You promised. I just need to trust You.”