With All My Heart

Yesterday I had one of those epiphanies - you know, when something really makes sense to you? It was this verse from 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 will make your paths straight. It hit me trust in the LORD with all of your heart. So I ran over that phrase over and over. And each time I thought of things I was trusting besides God. I thought about the things I'd complained to a coworker about, the item I just bought with my Visa card because I didn't have the cash, the things I was fixing with some 5-step method, and the things I was plain worried about. Deeper and deeper each time I repeated that phrase. I realized what a shmuck I'd been as I kept pondering: and lean not on your own understanding. Geez! How many recent decisions I've made bacause I had reasoned them out, not because I felt compelled by God to do them. It sounds goofy to just sit and wait for God to say - "Okay Mike, do such-and-such." But why? I considered the next phrase: in all your ways acknowledge him. Okay, the reall big things - thats a no-brainer. But all my ways? Now we're getting deep. So, I stop and meditate on Big Mac or Quarter-pounder? Maybe not. But at least consider that God might have a bigger plan for my lunch hour than me filling my stomach. For that matter, maybe there's something bigger for my appointment, or my TV time, or my bloging. The possibilities! So I acknowledge that He - the BIG GUY - might have something bigger - then what? Then, he will make your paths straight. Cool! No, AWESOME! Think about it: when it's all said and done, all I really want in life is to get thru it right. At the end, to know I did something bigger than myself - allowing my Lord to use me how he wants. His promise? If I stop driving and let him drive (haven't we heard that analogy a thousand times?) he'll make my paths straight: no detours, no forks in the road, no ruts... just a great ride. So, I brake it down: One, Acknowledge that he might have something bigger for me in all my ways. Two, Ignore that voice in my head that reasons out each logical step. Humm, sounds like faith. Three, Trust in the LORD with all my heart. That means doing the thing that doesn't make much sense (see two) or not doing the thing that does make sense when I know he's up to something. But all my heart? Aha! Unless I do this, I'll go back on the others and miss out on the promise. It sounds worthwhile to me.