May 24, 2021: Your Ways Are Not My Ways, says the Lord. Are We Following Our Ways or the Lord's Way?

In today's "Our Daily Bread", Proverbs 16 is highlighted in today's message. It is a great reminder that we can choose to make our own decisions for our life or choose to follow God's plans for ourselves.

The latter is a much better choice. Choosing our ways can only lead to great heartache and sometimes destruction to ourselves and to others. Our "free-will", that God has given to us, can be a blessing or a curse. The choice is ours to choose.

Proverbs 16: 3-4, 7, 9 (NKJV)

Commit your works to the Lord,

And your thoughts will be established.

4 The Lord has made all for Himself,

Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

7 When a man’s ways please the Lord,

He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

9 A man’s heart plans his way,

But the Lord directs his steps.

Proverbs 16 tells us that when we commit all we do to God, He will establish our plans and work things out according to His will. Proverbs also stresses honoring God in whatever we do. As stated in verse 6, “the fear of the Lord” should be the very foundation on what we lay our life choses upon. This "fear of the Lord" should produce in us a sense of awe, honor and reverence to our "Creator", "Sustainer", "Redeemer", and most importantly, "Lord over all".

A true commitment in allowing God's full control of our lives can be difficult in times of heartache and deep need. But that is where our heart of "true absolute surrender" must come into play. We must resist the "choice" of following "our wants and desires" and remember that we gave them up to Him already through our surrender. As we yield ourselves to Him, we can be certain that He is still lovingly directing our steps even when we don’t see the path ahead.

Isaiah 55: 8

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

PERSONNAL COMMENT

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"; (Psalm 111: 10). This is our foundation for living right with God. Let us not forget. Let us trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. (Proverb 3: 5)