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My Will vs. My Understanding

If you are like me, your greatest opponent is yourself.

I have the ability to argue myself into a corner and then defend myself to get out of it.

It’s almost a superpower.

And I feel that God knows this about me, because He talks about it in His Word:

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

I love the story of Moses in Exodus 3-4. Here’s a guy who knew his path: be a shepherd for the rest of his life.

He literally woke up every morning, made his coffee (of course they had coffee back then!), picked up his staff, and went to the sheep.

Day in and day out, the same thing. Wake up. Coffee. Staff. Sheep. Wake up. Coffee. Staff. Sheep.

For 40 years.

Then, one day, God showed up unexpectedly, and Moses had to make a decision.

Would he lean on his own understanding, which told him to stay with the sheep, or would he trust in the LORD and submit to Him?

It took some verbal wrestling with God, but finally, Moses made his decision and submitted.

And what happened?

Two nations (Egypt and Israel) were reminded of the power of the LORD, and Moses became one of the greatest leaders in Israel’s history.

Have you ever been at a point in your faith journey where you had to decide whether to lean on your own understanding or submit to God and trust Him to make your paths straight?

I’m not saying He will use you to lead a nation to freedom. But just maybe He will lead you to better family relationships, a better career direction, or take you places you never dreamed of.

So, will you put your own understanding aside and trust in the LORD?

There’s only one way to find out.

Submit.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You that Your view is not my view, and Your plans are so much bigger than I could imagine. Help me to trust You over my own understanding. Amen.

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you lean far more on your own understanding than on God? Submit it to Him and see what He wants to do with it!