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The Truth About Knowing God's Will

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6


The silent dialogue ensues:


It’s right there! I just need to trust in the Lord with all my heart, and He will direct my paths!


Right?


Wrong.

I, like almost everyone who reads that verse, thought the same thing for years. But it struck me one day, that is not what the verse says.


Read it again, and pay attention to what it’s actually saying. It begins, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” That’s one part. Then it goes on, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”


So, wait. What’s it saying?


That trusting in the Lord is separate from His directing our paths?


Well… yes. Trusting in the Lord is a part of His directing your paths, but it’s not the part that causes Him to direct our paths.


So…


Acknowledge Him, and He will direct my paths?


Actually, yes. That’s exactly what it says.


When was the last time you told someone a story from your own life about how God did something for you? How many of those stories can you think of off the top of your head?


Before I knew all this about acknowledging God, I was convicted that I needed to quit being so theoretical and instead tell more stories about what God was doing in my life. It began with the story of how I ended up playing the piano for church only a few months after sitting down at the piano for the first time. The more times I told my story of how God had literally taught me how to play the piano, the better I could play the piano!


Then I told the story of how I finally chose my major when I had no idea what I wanted to do. The more times I told how God lined people up in my path so I could miraculously discover that major, the more I knew the major was exactly where God was directing me!


Next I told the story of how my family and I were able to travel to one of our favorite places twice instead of once like we’d planned. And after telling that story, God directed us to travel to the same place a third time!


And that’s only to name a few…


When you tell these stories of how God has been so faithful to you, something miraculous starts to happen: Not only does He pour out more and more, but you also have the heart to receive it. Then, in times when you would have been stressed because you didn’t know God’s will for you, instead you trust Him and are at peace. (That’s where the trust comes in.) You know that He is going to give you a story beyond what you could have ever imagined in your wildest dreams. It’s true; I have seen it!


In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths…

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