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Not Leaning On Your Own Understanding


Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) 

          Thoughts swirl through my mind. There’s so much to cover here. The first thing is that this is counter-intuitive. It’s counter-rational. That doesn’t mean it’s irrational, just that it goes against our rational ideas. It doesn’t make sense to us. Shall we trust someone who Is so completely out of our control? Someone whose estimation of a good idea can mean that we are troubled and burdened? This idea makes me want to stamp my feet and say, “I don’t wanna.” See how far that gets any two-year-old with a good parent. 
          Understanding is a key for me. I go through times when my mind develops choruses with which it regales my imaginary audience. Right now, it’s “But you don’t understand.” Like a broken record, my mind never seems able to go on to explain who doesn’t understand or what they fail to get. I suspect the intended audience is God, which makes the charge comedic, but it’s like an ear worm. The thinking part of my mind tries to correct the lamenting side. It doesn’t work. All that means is that there are at least two who don’t understand: God and I. Sometimes, “OK, Karen, you don’t understand” or “You’re right, I don’t understand” helps. 
          When it doesn’t I go back to the reason for the name of this blog. Like Abraham, I’m going where I do not know, obeying to gain promises I don’t understand. That brings us to the second half of the passage, the part about making our paths straight. First, there’s a condition. We have to acknowledge him in all our ways. I might be getting a little better at this. Maybe. On a good day. 
         “In all your ways…” Everywhere you go? As you are going? How about, in the ways that you do what you do? Yep, yep, and yep. I’m not one of those “The Spirit told me” folks. I wish I felt more led  in my day-to-day living than I do, but I wonder if I acknowledge God to myself the way that I should. 
          Now for the good part – or not so good part. If we do all this, He will make our paths straight. Yippee! Straight paths equal easy streets! Except, they don’t always. Even when they do, those straight paths may not lead where we want to go. Today’s passage is not a pie-in-the-sky passage…unless we’re looking at things from God’s perspective, which takes us back to not leaning on our own understanding.

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