Day 23: Leaning on God

We have seen that the first phase of our response to God’s promise in Psalm 37:4-5 is an act: "Commit your way to the LORD" or "Roll your way onto the LORD". Then the second phase is an attitude: trust.

To commit is an act; but trusting is a continuing attitude. Once we have committed something, we don't go on committing, but we take the attitude that it is committed and all we have to do now is go on trusting. To commit is the act; trust is the attitude.

The third phase is, in the English translation, "God will do it". However, in the Hebrew it says literally, "God is doing it". I understand it this way. First, we commit our way to the Lord; then we maintain an attitude of steady, continuing trust. The matter is in God's hand and as long as we continue trusting, God is doing it. He is working out whatever we committed to Him. Whatever decision, whatever course we need to take, God is working it out.

To me, it's rather like going to a bank and depositing money in a savings account. The depositing of the money is the act of commitment. After that, you don't keep running back to the bank every day and wondering if your money is bearing interest. You just know the bank is adding the interest to your money day by day. That's an attitude of continuing trust and as long as you leave your money safely deposited in the bank and maintain that attitude of trust, the bank is doing it. It is the same with God. "Commit your way to Him, trust in Him, and He is doing it."

Let us now look at another promise of direction from the Lord. This is found in Proverbs 3:5‑6:

"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." (NIV)

The alternative translation is: "He shall direct your paths" (NKJV). Let's take that alternative and legitimate translation. 'God will direct your path; He will make the right way through life for you.' That is the promise. It's the one we need in this present situation.

Now what are the conditions? In a way, they are rather similar to those of Psalm 37. The first condition is: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart." We need to maintain that continuing attitude of trust, and you will find that with trust there always goes peace. When you become fretful and anxious, it's a pretty certain indication that you have stopped trusting.

The second condition is negative: "Do not lean on your own understanding." Don't go back to trusting your own judgment and trying to work it out yourself.

One of the greatest hindrances to receiving answers to prayer from God is that we pray, and then we try to work out how God should answer our prayer. Well, God is not committed to answer our prayer the way we might think. When we are trying to work it out, we actually are in an attitude of mind and spirit in which it makes it difficult for us to receive the answer that God is working out on our behalf. So don't lean on your own understanding.