Welcome back to our series of Proverb 3:5-6 and Part 4.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
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.
Let’s recap, last time we looked at the start of what ‘lean not on your own understanding’ means, today we are going to continue doing that.
I hope you found the Challenge with Reflection time a good experience and made you hungry to keep asking Jesus ‘what are You saying here, and what do You think here?’
All right back into it, let’s pick up in John 5:17-20 this is such a powerful passage, take your time to read it, read it, and read it again slowly with deliberate pause and wonder at the truth spoken here from Jesus.
John 5:17 – 20
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all he does. Yes, to your amazement He will show”
I love that in these verses Jesus is aiming and giving words that say and point out, God was and is always at work.
Jesus uses Father as God which refers to Himself in Exodus (4:22-23) through Mosses.
In fact also in Deuteronomy (1:31; 8:5; 14:1; 32:6), Isaiah (43:6; 63:8,16; 64:8), Jeremiah (3:4,14,19,22; 31:9,20), Hosea (11:1-4) and Malachi (1:6; 2:10; 3:17). Have a look up and read all these passages and ask Holy Spirit to highlight what God is saying here for you.
The reason why I’m pointing all these verses out, is to show that this is not new.
Jesus has always done and been ONLY about doing the Fathers work, and this is exactly what the Father has always asked His sons and daughters to do. Right?
But they have not always done it, and guess what over the ages this has not changed, because we don’t always do what the Father asks either. Hmm food for thought.
Yet this is sad and where we need to take note: The Jews leaned on their own understanding, totally missing not only what Jesus was saying but actually missed who He was, and even though they had been waiting a very long time for the Messiah, they totally missed Him! Let’s not ever be like them, let’s declare BUT we will see Jesus, we will see the Messiah, we will see His face, His hand, His way here.
Jesus tells them in the next two verses, where this sort of the revelation, true miracles and true power was coming from, and actually that it’s always been here.
It’s amazing that even though Jesus was fully God, just pause there to get the weight of that statement. Jesus chose to live as man with human restrictions, rejections, and limitations. Wow, doesn’t this show, remind, and lead us to do the same as Sons and Daughters of God, to stop resenting restrictions, rejections and limitations and just get to living abundantly from clinging to the understanding God hasand freely wants to share with us, as we ask God what are You saying here?
Challenge Time
1. Ask the Lord to show you areas in your life you are currently leaning on your own understanding? Write them down
2. Now ask Him to reveal the truth to you, about those thing you have written down.
3. Choice time: do you still want your own understanding in these areas, or His (Truth)? If you want His Say Father God I choose to lay down my understanding in this area ………………(say the first you wrote down and I chose instead to pick up Your truth……. (Say what He showed you ) Thank You Father Amen.
4. Repeat for all that are written on your list
5. Give thanks to the Lord maybe spend time in praise or worship of Him.
Father thank You for Your teaching on the importance of not leaning on our own thoughts, understanding of people, situations and circumstances. Would You help us to be overcomers who seek Your understanding instead, in these areas. In Jesus name. Amen
Craig Patten
Itinerate Pastor/Prophet
Encounter Ministries
