The Wisdom of God

I mentioned them in prayer there, how precious these words are.

I just want to for a few moments just think on them.

We've all been in situations, I'm sure, where all of a sudden our plans have been changed very quickly.

Things happen and you're feeling nice and relaxed and prepared one minute,

and suddenly something changes those plans and you're set into a panic.

You can be all set to go away on holiday.

You've got the car packed, you go out of the car, turn the key and nothing happens.

There's a panic. What are you going to do?

Or you're all set to go on a text come through from Calmark, ferries cancelled.

Again, how often does that occur and our plans are changed?

Again, we see so many people have had COVID recently.

A COVID test changes your plans there and then.

There are so many things that just come our way.

Our best laid plans don't always work out.

But are our plans the priority?

Or whose plans are important?

Surely it's not our own plans that so often take priority.

But we lean towards that, don't we?

And yet as we read in these words in verse 5 and 6 of Proverbs chapter 3,

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

they're a great reminder to us of where our plans and our focus is always to be.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.

We need to be open to a change of plans.

Things can change very quickly.

And we saw that in our reading in Acts chapter 16 where we saw Paul and Timothy on their journey there.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Their plans were being changed.

Where they thought they were going, suddenly they weren't.

The spirit of God stopped them in their tracks, changed their direction.

And then in a vision God spoke to Paul about a call to Macedonia.

Now Paul could easily have said, that's not the plans we have in mind.

That's not where we're going.

That's not what we're doing.

What was important was that's what God wanted them to do.

That's where God wanted them.

Where he wanted them to go.

And so we want to see for ourselves the importance of these words in verse 5 and 6.

We're just going to go through them individually.

Three different parts.

Split them into three different parts.

And see the wisdom of God in always listening to him.

Somebody once said,

Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.

Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.

And when we think of that with ourselves and God,

how often do we want to be the ones doing the talking to God?

Telling him, this is our plans.

This is what we're going to do.

But wisdom is listening.

And listening requires patience.

So we look at these words.

And we begin first of all with these words.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

This is where it begins.

Trust in the Lord.

Not in ourselves.

Trust in the Lord.

The creator of heaven and earth.

The sustainer of our lives.

The God who created all that we see around us.

The God who made us in his own image.

And the God who puts faith in our hearts by his grace.

And yet we still think that we know better than him.

No.

He says,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Samuel Rutherford once said,

Duties are ours.

Events are God's.

When our faith goes to meddle with events

and to hold account upon God's providence

and begins to say,

How will you do this or that?

We lose ground.

We have nothing to do there.

We leave him to steer his own helm.

There is nothing left for us

but to see how we may be approved of him.

How often are we guilty of that?

Saying to God,

How will you do this or that for us?

Instead of just looking to God

to steer his own helm.

To steer the direction of our lives

individually and collectively.

That is trust.

Trusting God to direct everything for us.

His providence and his will are in his hands.

But instead we so often seek our own will.

When we think of relationships,

whatever relationships they are,

without trust,

our relationship is doomed.

If there is no trust in our relationship,

where is it going to go?

There is always going to be doubt,

anxiety, fear, worries.

And yet we are told here,

Trust in the Lord.

Because we can.

We can depend on him,

the one who won't leave us.

Trust in God as we go about his business,

as we go about all that we do

in his name.

And trust is very similar to faith.

You could almost tie the two together.

Trust in the Lord is the same thing.

Have faith in the Lord.

When you think of that great passage

in Hebrews 11

and all these people we read of there

who by faith,

by trust in God,

lived their lives,

went forward in life

in circumstances

where it seemed senseless.

They could have easily said to God,

what are you doing?

By faith Noah built an ark

in the middle of nowhere

with no sign of rain or water.

But he did it by trust,

by faith that God knew what he was doing.

And so many others,

that you read in that passage

and throughout scripture,

they didn't know.

They didn't know what was ahead

or what they were doing sometimes.

But they trusted God.

They had faith in God.

And that's what we are being told here,

to trust in the Lord

with all our heart,

with all that we are.

The wisdom of God's word.

There was a well-off lady

who was interested

in the things of God.

And she was searching her Bible

for answers.

She wasn't trusting

in the Lord at this point,

but she was showing an interest.

And so she wrote a letter

to her minister.

And she wrote this letter saying,

Will you put down in black and white

what I am to believe?

I have been told

of so many different texts,

she said,

and there are so many

that I'm confused.

Please tell me one text

and I will try and believe it.

Well, the minister's reply was this.

It's not one text

more than another

or any number of texts

that saves.

It's by trusting

in a person,

by trusting

in the Lord Jesus Christ

that we are saved.

And we see

the word of God before us.

I'm sure

this kind of text

is a kind of text

you see on

so many walls and homes.

Proverbs 3,

Proverbs 3:5

verse 5 and 6.

But we don't just trust

in these words.

We trust in the Lord

of these words.

Trust in the Lord

with all your heart.

And that's what we see

Paul doing

so often

on his missionary journeys

and in his life.

Trusting in the Lord

when change seems

to come along.

We don't see him asking,

why?

Why don't we do it this way?

Why don't we do it another way?

He goes

where he's directed.

And as a people

that is what we are

to be open to as well.

Individually

and collectively

in our lives.

To trust in the Lord

with all

our hearts.

Trust him

when dark doubts

assail thee.

Trust him

when thy strength

is small.

Trust him

when to simply

trust him

seems the hardest

thing of all.

Trust him

he is ever faithful.

Trust him

for his will

is best.

Trust him

for the heart

of Jesus

is the only

place

of rest.

Trust

in the Lord

with all

your heart.

that's the first

thing

that we see

here.

The second

thing is

lean not

on your

own

understanding.

Lean not

on your

own

understanding.

And again

the idea

here is

of being

self

reliant.

I

and I'm sure

all of us

would love

to be able

to say

we're right

all the time.

I would love

to be able

to say

to everyone

look

I've got

the answer

I know

best

but the

reality is

I don't

you don't

but collectively

we can find

the right

answer

with God.

Lean not

on your

own

understanding.

We all

have

opinions.

We all

have opinions

about

anything

and everything

in this

world.

We all

have

something

to say

but they

are just

that

our own

opinions.

And when we

think of the

situation that

we're in

just now

a time

of vacancy

it's a

time when

we'll hear

many different

opinions.

Who has

the right

answer?

Can we look

to one

person

here and

say

they've

got the

right

answer?

Well we

don't want

to lean

on our

own

understanding.

We don't

want to

lean on

our own

wisdom,

our own

opinions.

We want

to lean

on the

Lord.

That's

what the

writer here

is saying

Solomon in

his wisdom

is saying.

Lean not

on your

own

understanding.

The world

has changed

a lot since

the days of

Solomon or

indeed the

days of

Paul.

But what

hasn't

changed is

that we

need to

hear what

God is

saying to

us.

Yet we

hear so

often things

have changed.

We've moved

on.

We've moved

on from the

dark ages of

the Bible.

We've got all

this wisdom

in our world

now.

We've got all

this wisdom

all around

us.

We don't

need the

wisdom of

God.

But in the

many things

that have

changed,

some things

remain the

same.

people of

fears and

anxieties,

a people who

face joy and

sorrows,

a people who

struggle with

all kinds of

sin,

the needs

that we

have,

the responsibilities

that they

bring upon

us.

All of

these things

remain the

same.

They haven't

changed.

So as you

look at the

Bible and

you see God

speaking to

people 3,000

years ago

through Solomon

or 2,000

years ago

through Paul,

the people are

still the same

as ourselves.

They're no

different.

We have

the same

issues.

And in

chapter 2,

verse 1 of

Proverbs,

you see what

is key to

it all is

about trusting

in the

word of

God.

My son,

if you

receive my

words and

treasure up

my commandments

with you,

it begins

there, this

wisdom that

is being

imparted from

God, the

value of

wisdom, and

that we see

built on us,

you go on

through the

book of

Proverbs.

And these

words, lean

not on your

own understanding.

The word

literally means

to rest upon

something, but

you wait down

on something,

to make you

think that this

is going to

hold me, this

is going to

keep me up.

Well, our

own understanding,

our own

wisdom, is

not.

but by the

grace of

God that he

shows towards

us, the

one whose

ways are

above our

ways and

his thoughts

are above

our thoughts,

he imparts

wisdom to

us.

As the

writer James

says in the

New Testament,

if anybody

lacks wisdom,

let him ask

God.

And that

ties in with

just what we

have here.

Lean not

on your own

understanding.

understanding.

God is

there.

God is

there to

be lent

upon.

Our own

understanding,

our own

wisdom, will

so often let

us down.

And you

just have to

look at

Paul.

When you

read Paul's

testimony in

Acts chapter

Acts 9 · chapter mention

9, and

throughout the

book of Acts,

you see people

talking about

Paul and the

wisdom that

he was perceived

to have.

But it was

worthless.

He counted it

as dung, he

says in the

book of

Philippians.

His own

understanding,

leaning on his

own understanding,

led him down a

path of

destruction and

chaos.

He was there

destroying the

church, destroying

the Christians, out

to pursue them and

persecute them.

But then the

Lord intervened.

And when you

see what was

happening then in

Paul as he was

converted, and

as we read in

Acts chapter 16

Acts 16 · chapter mention

in verse 5,

this man who

had persecuted

the Christians,

it says in

Acts 16 verse 5,

Acts 16:5

the churches

were strengthened

in the faith

and grew daily

in numbers.

Because no

longer was he

leaning on his

own understanding,

his own wisdom.

He was leaning

upon the

Lord.

And it's

always tempting

of us to

think we have

understanding,

we have

wisdom.

But let's not

think so highly

of ourselves.

We must

decrease,

and he must

increase.

We must look

to the Lord,

lean on him

and his ways,

and wait

upon him

with patience

and with

prayer.

prayer.

And thirdly,

you see here

in verse 6,

in all your

ways,

acknowledge him

and he

will make

straight

your paths.

There is

this assurance,

there is this

promise that

comes from

God.

He will

make straight

your paths.

In all

your ways,

acknowledge him.

How do you

acknowledge God?

How do you

acknowledge God?

Is it just

paying a token

gesture to him?

Is it just by

turning up in

church?

Is that

acknowledging God?

It's more

than that.

It comes back

to that wisdom

of listening,

of not seeking

to speak

first and have

the answers to

all of what

we see as the

important issues

in our church.

It's about

listening.

By acknowledging

him, we

listen to

his word.

We seek

the guidance

of his

Holy Spirit.

We wait

upon him.

Paul found

himself in

that situation

in Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16,

waiting

upon the

Lord.

And he

found the

Lord directing

his path.

In Acts

Acts 16:10

16,

verse 10,

when Paul

had seen

the vision,

immediately

we sought

to go

into

Macedonia,

concluding

that God

had called

us to

preach the

gospel to

them.

You see,

it wasn't

their idea.

It wasn't

this is our

understanding

of the

situation.

They concluded

that God

had called

them to

preach the

gospel to

them in

Macedonia.

the Lord

directed

their paths.

And our

earnest prayer

at all

times would

be that the

Lord would

show us

his ways,

to show

us where

to go,

to show

us what

to do,

to tell

us what

to say.

In all

your ways

acknowledge

him and

he will

make straight

your paths.

This was

prayed

earlier.

When we

think even

of speaking

to people,

inviting

them to

church,

these words

tie in.

Trust in

the Lord

with all

your heart.

Trust in

the Lord

that he

will prepare

that person

you're wanting

to speak

to,

to invite

along.

That there

will be

an opening,

a door

opening for

you,

even before

you arrive.

Trust in

the Lord.

Don't lean

on your own

understanding.

Don't start

saying to

yourself,

they're never

going to

listen to

me.

They're going

to laugh

in my

face.

They're going

to turn

me away.

They're going

to rip

up the

invitation.

Don't lean

on your

own

understanding

of the

situation.

In all

your ways

acknowledge

him and

he will

direct

your paths.

There will

be times

when we

feel discouraged.

There will

be times

when we

meet a

closed

door.

Paul

made

these

things.

The

disciples

made

these

things.

But it

didn't

turn them

away.

It

didn't

turn

them

off

going

out

with

the

gospel.

They

continued

to

press

on.

And so

should

we.

To

press

on

because

we

have

the

glorious

gospel

of

Christ.

And when

we think

of the

amazing

ways

that the

Lord

directs

our

paths.

He's

done it

in the

past

to all

of you

I'm

sure.

Directed

your

paths

towards

the

Lord.

When

you

were

going

in

completely

the

opposite

direction.

Showing

you

his

wonderful

ways

that

he

works

to

bring

you

back

to

himself.

When

you

trust

in

the

Lord

with

all

your

heart.

When

you

lean

on

his

understanding.

When

you

acknowledge

him

he

directs

your

paths.

And

God

uses

remarkable

ways

to

remind

us

that

he

loves

us.

An

amazing

story

a man

on

the

west

side

once

told

me

of

his

days

in

the

Navy

during

the

Second

World

War.

He

was

on

a

destroyer

called

HMS

Lapwing.

And

he'd

been

on

it

for

a

while.

He

was

part

of

the

crew

but

he

was

granted

leave

to

go

home

in

March

1945

as

he

was

told

his

mother

was

gravely

ill.

And

so

he

left

that

destroyer

and

he

made

his

journey

back

home

to

the

west

side.

And

what

did

he

find

when

he

got

home?

His

mother

was

not

ill

at

all.

She

was

up

and

about

quite

healthy

quite

strong.

And

he

couldn't

understand

what

had

happened.

How

this

message

had

been

communicated

that

she

was

gravely

and he

was

to

go

home

only

to

find

this

was

the

situation.

After

a few

days

at

home

he

left

to

go

back

to

rejoin

his

ship

once

it

would

come

back

into

port.

The

thing

was

the

ship

never

returned

to

port.

Since

the

time

that

he

left

it

it

had

been

torpedoed

on

a

Russian

convoy

run.

it

had

sank

and

158

men

were

lost.

Only

61

survived.

He

wasn't

a

professing

Christian

at

the

time

but

it

spoke

to

him

of

the

Lord's

protection

over

him

and

it

spoke

to

him

in

a

powerful

way

that

he

came

to

give

his

life

to

Christ.

His

mother

lived

for a

number

of

years

after

the

war

and

he

himself

lived

until

he

was

over

a

hundred

and

he

served

the

Lord

in

a

strong

faith

all

his

days.

The

Lord

used

a

remarkable

situation

a

tragic

situation

to

remind

him

of

his

protection

over

him

and

he

came

to

trust

in

the

Lord

with

all

his

heart

and

God

uses

different

ways

and

different

means

to

bring

us

to

put

our

trust

in

the

Lord

and

to

strengthen

our

trust

in

the

Lord.

It's

not

just

about

a

moment

of

trust

it's

a

lifetime

of

trust

an

ongoing

trust

day

by

day

living

for

the

Lord

today

tomorrow

the day

after

all our

days

these

words

speak

to

us

Proverbs

is a

book

of

wisdom

and

there's

none

of

us

who

have

all

the

answers

there's

none

of

us

who

know

the

best

way

to

go

forward

but

the

Lord

does

and

that's

what

we're

being

encouraged

to

do

in

these

words

and

when

we

see

the

likes

of

Paul

in

that

call

to

Macedonia

to

preach

the

gospel

there

this

is

where

it

comes

from

trust

in

the

Lord

with

all

your

heart

do

not

lean

on

your

own

understanding

in

all

your

ways

acknowledge

him

and

he

will

make

straight

your

paths

well

may

the

Lord

the

same

Lord

of

Proverbs

be

our

Lord

to

lead

us

and

to

guide

us

in

his

paths

we're

going

to

conclude

by

singing

to

God's

praise

in

Psalm

143

to