Scripture: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Observation: Trust in the Lord. Entire trust in God is the only logical position for Christians to take. God has all knowledge and all power, and foresees and prepares against all the troubles that come upon man as sudden emergencies. For anyone to rely on his own understanding under such circumstances is foolish indeed. It is also folly to alternate between trust in self and trust in God.
To place little confidence in one’s own understanding does not mean that a man must lay aside intelligence and give up the power of choice. Intelligence is needed to determine from the Word of God and from God’s guiding providences what is the divine will. A will strengthened and cleansed by God is needed if one is to follow a true course through to the end.
6.
He shall direct. Or, “it is He who will direct.” The Hebrew emphasizes that God Himself will make straight and plain the path of His servant, when His servant acknowledges Him in every phase of life’s many activities. [The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 3. 1977 (F. D. Nichol, Ed.) (955–956). Review and Herald Publishing Association.]
Application: Here are a couple of questions we need to ask ourselves: Who do you trust in when things go wrong in your marriage? Do you trust in yourself, or maybe you run to your family or your friends, and you tell them your side of the story? Some people run to therapists, counselors, divorce lawyers, coworkers, school mates, or even strangers on the street. And yet, we seldom run to God. We need to recognize that many of the people we run to in times of marital troubles are not really trained or equipped to give us proper advice and guidance. Many of them are going or have gone through similar situations but did not resolve them in a healthy way. How can someone fix our marital challenges when they gave up on theirs?
Now, I know that most people mean well when they offer advice, but not all advice is good, applicable, or helpful. Our family and friends are already biased toward your side of things and telling them of your marital difficulties may end up turning them against your spouse. Once you work out the challenges in your relationship it may be difficult for them to work through the feelings they have developed toward your spouse.
I’m not suggesting you get help when you need it but rather to seek God’s help first and then help from others but only from those who may be biased and may have appropriate training and experience to really be able to help us. God created and designed marriage. He is the Master Designer and Builder! So then, why don’t we trust Him first, before anybody else, with our marriage? From Him we can learn all the principles for a healthy, abundant and blessed filled marriage. We trust God with so many areas of our life, why not with our marriage?
A Prayer You May Say: Father God, help us to trust You with our marriage as much, or more, than with any other are of our life.
Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
