Advice for America
Proverbs 3:5-6
On July 4, 2016, we observed the 240th birthday
of the independence of the United States of America. History tells us that our forefathers left
Europe to come to a land where they could be free from tyranny and having to
submit to British rule. They wanted to
have the opportunity to worship freely and to build this great land on the
power and Sovereignty of God. In fact,
they penned what we know now as the Declaration of Independence. The last line of this great document states, “And for
the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of
Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and
our sacred honor.” It is no doubt that this great country was built
on the principles of Christianity.
Michelle Anderson, on her website www.faithofourfathers.net
writes “The pilgrims, as you will recall,
were, Christians fleeing Europe in order to escape religious persecution, and
they literally began their stay in their new land with the words, ‘In the name
of God, Amen.’ The pilgrims were
followed to New England by the Puritans, who created bible-based commonwealths.
Those commonwealths practiced the same sort of representative government as
their church covenants. Those governmental covenants and compacts numbered more
than 100, and were the foundation for our Constitution.
New Haven
(Connecticut) and Massachusetts were founded by Puritans who wanted to reform
the Church of England, who later became known as Congregationalists. Roger
Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island based on the principle of freedom
of conscience. Pennsylvania was established by William Penn as a Quaker colony.
Maryland was a haven for Catholics from Protestant England.
America was indeed
founded by bible-believing Christians and based on Christian principles. When
they founded this country, the Founding Fathers envisioned a government that
would promote and encourage Christianity.”
Did
you know that of the first 108 colleges and universities in our country only 2
were not founded on the principles of Christianity. Harvard and Yale were developed to help
promote Christianity. In fact, in order
to be admitted to the University of North Carolina in 1819, a student had to
have studied the Book of John and the Book of Acts in Greek. I spent over years as the Associate Dean of
Students at a small Presbyterian affiliated college and I can assure you that
was not a requirement of those students to be admitted. In fact, there were absolutely no
requirements whatsoever that had anything remotely to do with Christianity. We did offer opportunities for worship and
clubs that could be on campus promoting Christianity, but these certainly were
not the main reason for the existence of the college.
So
are we as a country still one that is based on the principles of
Christianity? Somewhere, somehow, the
tide had turned and today every principle that was held near and dear to our
forefathers seemingly has gone by the wayside.
The principles of Christianity that were the strongholds that built this
country seem to have become annoying out of date suggestions that really just
do not matter. I have found myself to be
troubled by this. I have shaken my head
at those trying to run for political offices and thought we are just hopeless. I have even jumped on the bandwagon of the
old Hee Haw song…. “Gloom, despair and agony on me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery. If I had no bad luck, I have no luck at all.
Gloom despair and agony on me….”
But
I have realized something… this is not the first time in the history of mankind
in which it seems that all mankind is doomed.
In fact, in every era of history there has been this sense of gloom
despair and agony on me. But we do not
have to live that way. In fact, the Word
of God portrays a message that is quite au contraire. As long as you and I have breath, we have
hope. And for those of us who have come
to the place in our lives where we have asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior,
we will have hope for all eternity. So
what do we do?
Proverbs
3:5-6 was introduced to me when I was a senior at Statesville High School. My English teacher, Mrs. Jolly had the
courage to sign my yearbook with the wisdom of these verses. Although I had been a Christian since I was 8
years old, I really don’t remember hearing much about these short pearls of
scripture. Quite honestly, I can’t tell
you the last time I have even heard a sermon centered on these verses. But I
can tell you this: if you and I start
adhering to the concepts of these verses, the world as we know it will change
and change for the glory of God! Let me
share them with you!
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on
your own understanding;
6 in all your ways
acknowledge him,
and he will make
your paths straight.[1]
Look
at that very first word, TRUST. Think
about what you have put your trust in just in that last few hours. You trusted your spouse this morning with a
cup of coffee that didn’t have poison in it.
You trusted a shiny little object that you stuck in a hole in your car
and started a 200 horsepower engine. You
trusted that car to get you from your home to this wonderful church
building. Along the way, you trusted
those drivers coming toward you to not veer over into your lane and cause you
to have a wreck. You trusted this pew
that you are sitting on to hold you up and the really big person just down the
row from you. We could go on and on, but
the point is made. You and I trust a
whole lot! The bible is telling us to
put our trust in the Lord. How are you
doing with that? Do you find that as you
go through this thing called life that you are trusting other things more than
you are trusting the Lord? Sometimes, I
bet you, like me even trust things that are not even real! Just because someone said it on Facebook does
not mean it is real! We must understand
that if there is one thing we can wholeheartedly trust, it is the LORD! But we must make sure it is of the Lord! Watch this.
If you take the word TRUST as an acronym, you can begin a process that
will help you make sure it is of the Lord.
TOTALLY
RELY
UPON
SOVEREIGN
TRUTH
In
my mind, using this acronym, I can test my trust! First and foremost, I have to have an
understanding about who God is and what He has done for me. If I am willing to learn about Him, allow His
love to come into my heart and mind, and then experience Him fully as I learn
more about Him through His word, then I ought to be able to grow in that
relationship to TRUST Him! So if I am
TOTALLY RELYING UPON SOVEREIGN TRUTH, then there is no argument, there is no
misunderstanding, and there is no wavering.
I have to come to a place where I am willing to allow that to
happen. If I can do this, then the rest
will fall in place! First, I simply
TRUST IN THE LORD! I am not going to
place my trust in a politician or a concept, I am going to trust the Lord!
Look
at how this first step makes the rest of these verses flow: If I put my trust in the LORD, if I am
TOTALLY RELYING UPON HIS SOVEREIGN TRUTH, then I am not going to lean on my own
understanding. A few weeks ago, we were
sitting at the dinner table eating supper.
I was sitting in this chair that I had made sure a few days earlier that
the screws that held the legs on were tight.
I had this understanding that this chair was very solid. After a couple of bites and conversation with
my family, I felt this chair suddenly just collapse underneath me and down I
went! The screws were tight, but the
frame was not! That chair needed to be
re-glued and tightened up in an area that I failed to see! My own understanding was that it was a good
chair. The reality was it was not. What would have happened if I had prayed,
asking God to give me wisdom about that chair?
My God is sovereign! My God knows
ALL. His word tells me that if I need wisdom, to ask and He will give it to
me. Leaning on my own understanding has
too often caused me to be embarrassed, hurt, and surprised! However, when I trust the Lord, and lean not
on my own understanding, what do you think happens? Well, I am glad you asked!
Trusting
the Lord has never left me hurt, embarrassed, or ashamed in the long run. The very nature of God is to love us exactly
where we are, but love us enough to not let us stay in that condition! The remainder of these verses indicate that
very concept. Trust in the Lord. Lean not on your own understanding, but in
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Notice what these verses do not say: They do not say if you trust in the Lord,
your life will be sunshine and daisies!
They do not say that you won’t have hardships and trouble! They do not say you might have straight
paths! They do not say that He won’t
give you understanding! But they do say,
God is trustworthy, God cares for you and me, and if you and I acknowledge Him
in everything we do, He is going to be faithful and He will make our traveling
less weary.
There’s
an underlying theme in these verses that tells us about the nature of God. Throughout the word of God, we can see His
desire for His people to be in fellowship with Him. He wants that more than anything, but we have
this problem. The bible tells us that
because He is so Holy, we cannot have a relationship with Him because we are
not holy. In fact, even if we have
committed only just a white lie, we are unholy and are separated from God. God however because of His great love for us,
provided a sacrifice, a bridge if you will that purifies us and cleanses us
through the shedding of life. The bible
tells us that God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that
whoever believes in Him will not perish but have life and have it
eternally! In other words, so that you
and I can have a relationship with this holy God, a sacrifice had to be
given. That sacrifice was named Jesus
and because of His great love for his father and for you and I, he paid the
price. The only thing you and I have to
do, is to simply say thank you, acknowledge him as Lord and Savior by turning
from ourselves and selfish ways, and allow him to come into our hearts and take
over our lives.
Want
to make America better? Start by making
yourself better by
5 Trust in the Lord
with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make
your paths straight.[2]
Here are a few questions to consider:
·
Are you really putting your TRUST in
the Lord?
·
Are you really making your Lord
SOVEREIGN?
·
What of your ways could you acknowledge
Him better?
Consider this prayer:
Holy Father, thank you that you are
trustworthy. Thank you for wanting your
children to depend on you, your ways, and your word. Forgive me when I try to lean on my own
understanding. Help me begin to make
this country great again by beginning to practice first and foremost trusting
you, leaning not own my understanding, but acknowledging you in all that I
do! Show me your faithfulness. Guide me.
Lead me. Help my light shine for
you and only for your glory. Help me to
be that instrument of peace, love and help me show Jesus in everything I do!
Because He Lives,
Amen.
