By Pastor Erasmas Mandizvidza
Proverbs 3:5-8 (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with
all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
And He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
In this world, this side of life as we stand
ready for the blessed hope, there have been and are many problems / challenges
/ tribulations the world including Christians is facing and continues to face.
However, the Christian can take comfort in God’s promises for his / her readiness
and preparedness in John 16:33, in the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, "I have told you these things, so that in
me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I
have overcome the world." Currently, worldwide, families including Christians have had
either relatives or friends or neighbours either affected or infected to a very
large extent by this COVID-19 pandemic with some having had experienced or
experiencing a disheartening amount of loss within a span of roughly 3 months
and still counting.
Trusting-Leaning-Looking
to the Lord’s inspired (enthused) peace:
In
this case and like in every case, we trust in, lean on and look up to the Lord
for the energy that rejuvenates and have us have strength to wake up in the
morning living a life, and walk out the door staying in His sheepfold as the
sheep of His pasture. To those that look to the Lord and have sought Him, they
have come to know, can know and experience firsthand the power of peace, a
peace far much more than that the world offers and continues to offer (cf John
10:27), the peace from our Prince of Peace, that surpasses all understanding (cf
Philippians 4:7). It is that peace and its presence tabernacled in us, that get
you and I through the days we either could not or cannot get through on our
own. This peace only comes through in faith choosing to align our hearts, mind
and activities under the leading of the Holy Spirit in obedience to God. It
should be known and embraced by the Christian that this peace first grows from
or out of the choices he or she makes based on faith and consequently is cultivated
in a spirit of total (child-like) dependence upon God as well as a surrender to
His will as He our all in all (cf 1 Corinthians 15:28).
Trusting-Leaning-Looking
to the Lord for the provision of the sought hiding place (a strong tower or
fortress):
Kutenda, kuzembera and kutarisa
kunaShe kunotiwanisa rutiziro maari. We also in this case and like in other
case - trust in, lean on and look up to the Lord for a hiding place, our
escape. When the walls of: deaths, uncertainty, unknowns, rumours of deaths and
viral fear causing information are caving around, you and I can discover in
Proverbs 18:10 that, “The name of the LORD is
a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe”. The Lord surely has us
see and even experience that with the above walls caving
in around Christians, the Christians can discover what it means to say the name
of Jesus Christ their hiding place, is not only a sure escape but a strong
tower.
This we know, experienced and are
experiencing it, grabbing in and with faith, Our Lord and Savior’s solemn
invitation in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” As we are inscribed
in His hands, we are His portion, and we know in times like this as has been
and will be the case, that the Lord is
close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit and
we are a part of Him as we continually abide in Him (cf Psalm 34:18).
God gives us three
values in Proverbs 3:5-6 that we hold them as part of our Christian life will
help us live in the favour of His promises:
1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart
(Vimba naJehova nemoyo wako wese) - What would happen if
you only trusted in the food you want to eat or will eat later? What if you
really didn’t think it would be healthy and is safe? How would that change your
behavior? Would you sit down think of where to source other food in case this one
gets you seek? If you knew the food is unhealthy and unsafe you never think of
even touching but you just have to find some same foodstuff to cook and eat.
All these actions are because of the fact trust affects our choices. God wants you
and me to trust Him with our whole heart so that our choices are influenced by
that trust.
2. Lean not on your own understanding (Zembera
panaShe aneruzivo nehugwaru hwakakwana) - A
Computer Technician does not know how to install all software though he or she
has installed a lot of other but different brands. He or she will not need to
lean on knowledge of installation instructions of those other software
installed when wanting to instill other different and maybe new software. It is
assumed knowledge in his or her profession that one needs to follow the software
installation instructions from the proprietor (owner). Leaning on one’s understanding,
especially having limited understanding on instructions of the one in hand, can
be disastrous at worst and be rolled back at best though at the expense of
time. Our infinite God made this world & fully knows how it works and
should work. God knows what you and me must do in order to experience abundant
life (cf John 10:10). To make choices based on our own limited (finite)
understanding even though disregarding the instructions of our Maker and Lord, is
disastrous at worst and unfulfilling at best.
3. In all your ways acknowledge Him (Pazvese
tarisa kunaShe umupe chinzvimbo chake) - To
acknowledge God in all (entirely) does not mean to reference or only talk about
Him or give Him a holy “shout-outs.” To acknowledge God means to recognize Him
as He is, that is to look to Him for entire sustenance. Let us set our eyes on the
Way, the Truth and the Life if we are to know which way to move forward. In,
with & for Jesus makes us to be in-sync with the will of God. It is all about
where you and I choose to focus. Are we making our choices grounded on an
eternal (everlasting), kingdom view or on an imperfect, worldly (carnal) view?
Where you and I look, regulates ultimately our character and where we will wind-up.
When you and I make the choice to trust in the
Lord with all of our hearts, to let go of our own way of understanding things
and to look to God in everything we do, He will make our path straight. He will
set us on the right road, headed in the right direction (concluding to us being
with Him eternally, our blessed hope). He will give us peace. A Christian
should know that a choice is not a feeling, but a decision and the fruit of and
from decision is a function of one’s commitment.
Pastoral Blessing:
May our good Lord, who works in us to will and to act in order to
fulfill His good purpose not only remind us but also cause us to trust in Him,
Lean on Him and Look to Him in a child-like dependence in an obedient response
to his invitation to us, to call unto
Him and to cast all our burdens to Him as the all-knowing and able provider of
the rightful answer(s) to our needs towards the realization of the abundant
life that He gives to the sheep of and in His pastures.
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