OCTOBER 15, 2015
God’s Direction
In
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. — nkjv Proverbs 3:6
Read:
Proverbs 3:1–8
A century ago,
41-year-old Oswald Chambers arrived in Egypt to serve as a YMCA chaplain to
British Commonwealth troops during World War I. He was assigned to a camp at
Zeitoun, six miles north of Cairo. On his first night there, October 27, 1915,
Chambers wrote in his diary, “This [area] is absolutely desert in the very
heart of the troops and a glorious opportunity for men. It is all immensely
unlike anything I have been used to, and I am watching with interest the new
things God will do and engineer.”
Chambers believed and
practiced the words of 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 shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6 nkjv).
This is both a comfort
and a challenge. There is security in knowing that the Lord will lead us each
day, but we must not become so attached to our plans that we resist God’s
redirection or His timing.
“We have no right to
judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is
fitting us for,” said Chambers. “God engineers everything. Wherever He puts us,
our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that
particular work.”
Lord, may I love and
serve You with all my heart where You have placed me today.
As we trust in God, He directs our steps.
INSIGHT:
The book of Proverbs
is a collection of wise sayings, advice, instructions, and warnings. It is
structured as a life manual from a father to his son—an encouragement to live
wisely and in a way that obeys and honors God. Solomon, who spoke about 3,000
proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), is the main author (see Prov. 1:1-6; 10:1; 25:1).
Other authors include unnamed Jewish wise men (22:17–24:34), Agur (ch. 30), and
Lemuel (ch. 31). In today’s reading Solomon admonishes us not to neglect God’s
Word but to obey it (3:1). A wise person is faithful (v. 3), trusts and depends
on God (vv. 5-6), is not proud and avoids evil (v. 7), puts God first in
everything (v. 9), and learns from God’s discipline (v. 11). Sim Kay Tee
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015
