Are You Crazy? - Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you ever turned your life over completely to God? Have you ever truly and with no holds barred given Him the control? Do you still have that one thing that you hold back from your Father? I did until a couple of months ago.

There is a scripture that many of us know by heart. It is Proverbs 3:5-6, and it says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

We quote it, but do we live it? In my estimation I had always been a good Christian. I did all of the things you are supposed to do. I went to church when the doors were open, I volunteered, I had personal devotional time, etc. However, I always lived in a little bit of fear of what God would require of me should I completely surrender to Him.

Then I did it. I let go and told Father that He could do whatever He wanted with my life because it belongs to Him. Now, I do not in any way say those words lightly. He asked us to do something that seems like lunacy. He told us that in order to live in His fullness we needed to relinquish control. For us that meant that my husband resigned from his teaching position to write a novel. That doesn't sound too crazy until you realize that I am a stay-at-home mother, so there is no second income on which we can rely.

We are in the process of living out Proverbs 3:5-6. We are trusting our Father with our whole hearts because our understanding tells us that we have lost what little sense we had to start with. You should see some of the strange looks we've been given when we have shared with others about what God has told us to do. Please do not mistake me. We have some wonderful friends and family who have gone so far as to be excited with us about this new adventure (you know who you are). However, we have seen some really confused and puzzled faces from others. I don't blame them. A while back I could very well have been one of those people. Now, I know that there is an amazing peace that comes from being obedient even when everyone else is asking, "Are You Crazy!?!"

In reading this scripture once more, I have seen something that I never noticed in my previous perusals. It is in verse 6. It says, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." I can tell you that I have walked in circles in my spiritual journey enough times to recognize the value of a straight path. Imagine, trusting in Father to the point where you never have to walk in circles around the same issue again. That sounds like heaven on earth to me.

You know what is so amazing about all of this? It is that even though we are in the worst financial shape of our lives thus far, even though we are not sure how Father is going to pay our bills, even though my understanding says that I should jump ship now, I am completely and totally at peace. I cannot control this situation. Sure, I could run out and get a job to pay the bills, or I could try to force my husband to do so. All that would accomplish is us walking around the same mountain again. I don't know about you, but I certainly do not want to be like the children of Israel walking around in a desert for 40 years complaining when the Promised Land is 50 feet away.

So, what does all this mean? Simple, it means that if we are willing to release our hold on the controls of our lives, God will take over and guide us in expert fashion through this maze of life. It translates exactly as the scripture says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Do not keep even the smallest piece from Him. Give Him everything in your life down to the most inconsequential thing. "Do not lean on your own understanding." We can never know what Father knows; our flawed view of our situation will always lead us in the wrong direction. "In all your ways acknowledge him." There is no part of our life in which He does not want to be involved. "And he will make straight your paths."

The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years when the trip should have taken a matter of weeks. Talk about wasting a lot of time. I mean, I'm not sure how you feel, but the land of milk and honey sounds way better than a desert full of nothing.

That means, you can call me crazy all you want, but I'm going to take the advice of the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon. I am going to trust in Father with my whole heart, let everything I do flow from Him, quit depending on my analysis of the situation and take the direct route to wherever He is leading!

Blessings and a safe journey to you!