Your Own Understanding

             Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)

 

          I should write about this verse at least once each month. Today, there are two ideas demanding attention. First, this passage isn’t talking about throwing rationality out the window. This passage is not about doing things that make no sense just because we’re not supposed to lean on our understanding. It should not be part of our daily goal to leap off a building to prove we aren’t leaning on our understanding that gravity works. That would be another matter if God should specifically and clearly ask or command you to jump off the building.

          The second idea is that if and when God asks or commands me to do something that doesn’t make sense, and I trust Him rather than leaning on my own understanding, I am sacrificing something valuable to me. I suppose that other people may not put such a significant focus on the mental aspect of things, but I tend to. Some folks say I overthink. I counter the possibility that they simply don’t think. For me, understanding is ultimately a matter of control, so accepting “not understanding” is a huge sacrifice. If I give up the right or need to understand, I also give up the right or need to approve.

          And here is the issue – the problem – the area in which I am struggling. I have a part-time job for which I haven’t been scheduled yet. I may get some work done on my garden slowly, but for the most part, gardening is weeks away. I still have some unpacking to do…but I’m not busy.  I’m stressed because I’m not stressed. In a way, I’m on vacation. I get to take a rest. And I’m afraid that I’ll get lazy or bored or that God will choose this time to focus on some things that I generally keep myself too busy to consider.