25In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
The Bible tells us many times not to lean on our own understanding and to trust God. We can ask yourselves the question.
Why trust God?
Isaiah 55:8-9 has the answer. God’s thoughts are above our own and His ways above ours.
Now with the scripture above. Isreal did whatever was wise in their own eyes. Leaning in our own understanding leads to death. From the very beginning, Eve leaned on her own understanding and disobeyed eating the fruit. She didn’t trust that God knew what was best, was wise and good. The consequences were curses still affecting us to this day and separation from God and death.
From the beginning man has chosen not to trust God but to do what they wanted and what they saw was good.
We can trust God because God is Holy, Just and Perfect. Everything He does, every decision He makes comes from a place of purity, love and truth. God also is omniscient and knows everything. The Bible even describes Him as the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8). He is the beginning and He also knows the end so everything God does, says and decides is from the source of knowing everything and the result of everything.
As humans and created beings, we are limited and dependant on our awesome God. We don’t know everything but know One who does. We are perfect, but know Who is. We seek Him because He is far greater than us.
To do what is right in our eyes is our own destruction. We can’t do whatever we just feel like doing because feelings change. Just like the Israelites, we are becoming a generation only doing what seems right to us by putting the perfect Judge out of the picture.
If you read the book of judges, you’ll learn that whenever the Israelites did whatever they felt like doing, it often led to chaos and awful situations. When we decide to stop following God’s holy perfect will for our own and do whatever we just want to do, we will end up in chaos, division and a horrible state.
Trusting God is the wise decision we can make. Trusting someone who knows more than you and can do more than you is wise. Think of a child, the wise decision they can make is to trust a responsible, good adult to help guide them and lead them. It is unwise to consult themselves to make decisions when they’re limited and have little experience. They can’t book their own plane, travel, book a hotel, walk by themselves etc and do all this successfully without the proper help and guidance of a good adult. A good adult would advise and warn them. They will tell them to beware of strangers, to look after themselves etc and those adults can even share their personal experiences of the dangers of this world.
That’s wiser than a child relying on themselves and doing whatever they feel is right. Similarly, we are best guided by the One who created us.
When we come against situations where we have to make decisions, the Bible promises that when we seek wisdom, God will grant us wisdom when we ask (James 1:5).
Isreal didn’t have a physical king but they did have a King, God who is the King of kings and is more than willing to guide them. When Isreal asked for a King, God didn’t like it because He was the King of Isreal. God felt rejected by Israel (1 Samuel 8:7). Isreal also asked for a King because they wanted to be like other nations. We can also have that desire to be like this world. To be free to do whatever we want, how we want it and live to satisfy our flesh which ruins our spiritual health. Just like the Israelites, we can want to be like everyone else instead of taking time to seek God and seek to plead with Him. The world follows its ways and the enemy’s but we follow Jesus Christ. Though the temptation can come to be just like the world, we recognise we already have a King over us that we desire to follow.
God is the King of our lives. We don’t need another Lord. We don’t need another God but God Himself. With Him we have the best Perfect Judge, Leader and King we could ever receive if we would learn to surrender to His leading.
I want you to ask God to come take the control, authority and reign over your life. That God will lead you, direct you and that you want to do what He knows is good over your own will and way.
As Christians, when we say Jesus is Lord, it means He is Lord over all including ourselves. Let us accept and invite His reign over our lives and seek it with all our hearts.
Remember:
- Always pray every day to be led by the Holy Spirit.
- Pray for God’s will to be done.
- Before you make a big decision stop and pause to ask God for confirmation, revelation and clarity.
- Ask God to help you not walk according to the flesh or follow anything that’s not Him.
- Know that God promises to give us clarity when we humbling seek His wisdom and direction. God will direct you. That’s a promise, be patient and wait for that direction.
- Learn to not rush in the secret place but learn to ask God questions and always seek to understand His will.
- Read and prioritise God’s word to understand what is God’s will. Reading the word helps you able to discern His voice, will and way.
Scriptures:
8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.