Introduction: How would you define trust? Do you know people that you
can trust completely? Would you trust certain people (or everyone you
consider trustworthy) only for certain things? Our lesson this week
is about Jesus being the “North star” that we can fully trust in all
circumstances–so lets dive in!
- Faith and Trust
- Are faith and trust the same thing? Can a person believe
in God and yet not trust Him? - Let’s read Proverbs 3:1-4. What does it mean (v.1) to keep
God’s commands in our heart? - Is having something in your heart a substitute for a
good memory? - What would you do to comply with verse 3 – to bind
love and faithfulness around your neck and “write
them on the tablet of your heart?” - First, what does it mean to write them on the
tablet of your heart? (Writing on your heart
means that you want to obey, it comes naturally
because you have a desire to please God. See
Deuteronomy 5:27-29. You do not have to try to
remember something that you do naturally.) - Second, what does it mean to bind love and
faithfulness around your neck? (Your neck is
where you would wear the jewelry you wanted to
show off. Love and faithfulness should be
visible in your life. They should be the
ornaments of your life. See Proverbs 1:9 and
3:22. This accords with Peter’s advice in 1
Peter 3:3-4 that our quest for beauty should
rest primarily on who we are not what we wear.) - Trust and the Culture
- Let’s continue with Proverbs 3:5-6. There are several
elements of these verses that we want to understand. - What does it mean to “lean on your own
understanding?” - Does this mean we should not use our brains in
God’s work? Should we stop planning? - Does it mean that if God’s direction and our
desire or culture clash, we should follow God’s
direction?
- Can you think of something that we want to do in
the church because we feel it is “politically
correct” or culturally correct, yet contradicts
God’s word? - In making plans for the church, how do you make
plans, yet not lean on your own understanding? - What does it mean to trust in God with all our heart?
(I think the picture is to willingly submit our will
to God. Feel comfortable submitting our will and
thinking to God.) - Is that the picture the world has of us – people
who are too dumb to do their own thinking? (We
are people who are too smart to believe that we
know more than God.) - What does it mean to acknowledge God in “all our
ways?” (This would mean every aspect of our life
should reflect God’s will. This is a difficult area
for me when it comes to my litigation. Was King David
reflecting God’s will as he was lopping off the heads
of his opponents? How many “heads” am I allowed to
lop off in my religious liberty litigation and still
be in God’s will?) - What do you think God is promising when He says that
He will “make your paths straight” if you trust Him?
(The straight path is the easy path.) - Have you found that to be true in your life? If
not, are you sure that you have trusted in God
and not leaned on your own understanding? - Trust and Prosperity
- Read Proverbs 3:7-10. What is the practical result of
trusting God’s will for our lives and not our own desires?
(Health and wealth! Sometimes we go overboard in our
opposition to those who believe the gospel is the path to
prosperity and lose sight of God’s promise that obedience
makes our life better.) - “Health reform” teaches that cleaning up our diet
increases our spirituality. Is Solomon saying just
the opposite: “cleaning up” our spirituality
increases our health? - Is true health reform a matter of what comes out
of our mouth rather than what goes in it? See
Matthew 15:11. - Is there a moderate balance we should seek
in addressing both our physical health and
our spiritual health? Should we work both
sides of the problem? - Although trusting God gives us literal wealth
according to Proverbs 3:10, do we want it? What is
the problem with wealth? (Read Proverbs 11:4. The
problem is not wealth, but trusting in our wealth.
Wealth is generally fleeting, but trust in God is
forever.) - Read Proverbs 8:17-21. What kind of wealth does God
give us? Is it gold or silver? (It is beyond gold
and silver!) - Trust and Life
- What is your reaction when you have been trusting God and
things go wrong in your life? - Is it impossible to trust God and have things go
wrong? - Read Proverbs 16:1-3. What does verse 1 mean? (You think
something before you say it. Therefore, I conclude this
means that we can plan all sorts of things, but the final
results are in God’s hands. He has the final word.) - What does this teach us about trusting God? (We need
to trust God even though our plans do not turn out
exactly as we had in mind — which may be the result
of leaning on our own understanding.) - Why do (v.2) all of our ways seem innocent to us?
Should we be worried about our motives? (It is hard
for us to fairly evaluate our motives. We think we
are trusting God.) - Verse 2 seems to say that God sees through us.
Is that a lesson in trusting God? (Yes. God may
decide not to follow our plans because He
understands our motives and knows it would not
be best for us.) - Is verse 3 an answer to verses 1 and 2? (If you want
God to cooperate with you on your plans, if you want
success, the best thing to do is to first cooperate
with God. You may think that you have the best of
motives, but God knows the truth. That is why His
plans are better than our plans.) - Read Proverbs 16:4. Does this verse give you more or less
trust in God? (This is like Romans 8:28 – it tells us that
God is in charge, He has a plan, and He works every
circumstance of our life so that it is consistent with His
purpose.) - Friend, are you willing to trust God? Are you willing to
turn all your plans over to Him and acknowledge Him in all
things? If so, He promises to give you a “straight path.” - Next Week: What I Am Versus What You Think I Am
