Many of us wonder, who is God? Why should I care about him? He's not involved in my life, so what business would I have with him?
Do you want to live in safety? Do you want to feel at ease? Do you want to live without fear of harm? There’s a proverb in the bible that goes like this: “Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” (Proverbs 1:33 NIV)
The beginning of the book of Proverbs explains what Proverbs is, and who they are for:
Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise.
Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives
to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
knowledge and discernment to the young. (Proverbs 1:2-4 NLT)
King Solomon (a king of Israel who lived around 3,000 years ago) wrote these proverbs for a purpose. God granted King Solomon wisdom (read the story in 1 Kings 3:1-15 and 1 Kings 4:29-34), and he wanted a way to pass on that wisdom to following generations. Proverbs are for you and I. We who are young, so we may learn wisdom and understand things we don’t yet understand. God loves His kids (you and I, see John 3:16), and He wants us to do well in our lives. (John 10:10)
Here’s a rule of thumb for proverbs. For most people, most of the time, they work.
Going back to the first proverb I shared: For most people, most of the time, if we listen to God, we “will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” (Proverbs 1:33 NIV) To put it this way, God’s desire is for you to live in safety and be at ease with few fears. His preparation for you to live that way is this: Listen to Him.
God knows everything about you, even when you feel like you’re going under
God knows absolutely everything about you, and He loves you still. He still wants you to live in safety, be at ease, and not be consumed by fear. God knows you better than you know yourself. He created you. He knows your anxieties and fears. If you read the end of Psalm 139, the writer (Solomon’s father) says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” (Psalm 139:23 NIV) Understanding God already knows what is going on inside his heart, the writer asks God to come, search, and know it. He asks God to come inside his anxious thoughts. Why? David, the writer, knows God’s desire is for David to live in safety, at ease, and free from fear. David’s life isn’t currently reflecting God’s desire! I think David is desperate! His mind and heart and thoughts are a hot mess, like many of ours. With anxiety growing inside, he probably feels like he is going under.
Do you feel like you are going under? Barely hanging on? Are you overwhelmed by the thoughts in your head? God already knows. He knows everything about you. God is with you. He loves you, no matter what your past is and no matter what situation you are in. He loves you and He is inviting you into a relationship with Him. In your darkest moment, you can turn to God and tell Him, “God, I need You.” Even if you’re not sure if He is real, you can say, “God, if You are real, I want to know You.” You can ask Him to come into your heart, search it, and know your anxious thoughts, just like David did. He will come and meet you right where you are. He loves you, and He already knows anyway. You can’t hide from God. Psalm 139 says this:
“You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you,
Lord, know it completely." Psalm 139:2-4 (NIV)
Just sit and think about that for a minute. He knows your thoughts from afar, He knows when you sit and when you get up, He knows when you leave and when you come back, He knows why you are the way you are. He knows when you are procrastinating, when you’re afraid, when you’re taking on too much. He knows when you avoid hard conversations, when you spend your money on crap you don’t need, and when you make excuses. He knows what you are going to say before you even say it, because He understands even more than you do how your body processes fear. He knows who has ticked you off, when you are being passive aggressive and you can’t hide your sarcasm from Him. He knows.
He knows the way out. His prescription: Listen to Him.
For most people, most of the time, if we listen to Him, we "will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” (Proverbs 1:33 NIV)
He knows you already, and He wants to know if you are interested in knowing Him? He will lead you and guide you. What do you have to lose? You’ve already tried living life your own way. On your own, have you been able to achieve feeling safe and at ease without fear of harm?
God knows everything. He knows everything inside and outside of time. He knows the end from the beginning. According to Psalm 147:3-4 (NIV)
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
God’s understanding has no limit. He knows everything. If He loves you (He does, more than you know), and He knows everything, He knows how to get you out of the mess you’re in. If you will trust Him, He will lead you out of your pain and into His paths. (Psalm 139:24) His preparation and prescription are the same: Listen to Him. Not just once, but continually listen to Him. You can't just try it a few times, and decide it doesn't work. Do it for a year. Do it for a decade.
God Is Trustworthy
It’s a little difficult to listen and obey someone you don’t trust. I don’t know why, it’s just how God designed us. It takes us time to build trust. However, if someone has a proven track record of being absolutely amazing, the trust thing can be built much quicker.
Bear with me for this illustration. Sorry if you’re not a football fan or a Chiefs fan.
Imagine this with me: I am a young quarterback, and I want to grow and get better. Suddenly, if I get an invitation for Patrick Mahomes to personally instruct me for a week, it’s going to be an immediate yes. Think about how ANYONE would react in that scenario:
I’m canceling plans.
I’m rearranging my schedule.
I’m coming to learn.
I’m getting good sleep every night.
I’m not going out to the bar that week!
My mindset is this: I'm not going to argue with this guy, I’m preparing to absorb every possible shred of information, feedback, or strategy he wants to share with me.
I’ve got some questions. I want to know everything: his eating strategy, workout routine, how he blocks out his time. I want him to share his mindset with me, and his tricks, hacks, and personal disciplines. I am going to do what I can to get inside this guys head and find out what makes Him tick.
I am going to eat, sleep, dream, and meditate on the game of football for that week, and I am probably going to schedule some time to implement the things I learned into my life ASAP.
Why would I do that? Why would the normal process of building trust fly out the window so I can give this guy all of my time, all of my attention, and organize my life around this one thing? Because He has a proven track record. Google him if you don’t believe me. Patrick Mahomes is a living legend, and we have a front-row seat to history in the making. And guys, I’m not even a Chiefs fan.
God has a proven track record that’s arguably better than Patrick Mahomes. He’s worthy of your trust. He’s also patient, gentle, kind, and He is waiting for you to say Yes. Your invitation has been waiting your whole life, it's HERE and NOW! His face towards you is loving and excited for you to know Him. He knows if you are skeptical or afraid, but His understanding has no limit. Nothing you have ever done could disqualify you from knowing Him. “God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.” (1 John 3:20 NLT) “The word of God is living and active and full of power…” (Hebrews 4:12 AMP) The word of God is so powerful and living and active, that when He created the universe, He did it by speaking a power-filled word. His living word went to work and created something from nothing (read the story in Genesis 1 and 2.) In preparation, God sent His word to create until the world was formed with everything humanity needed to survive (light, land, water, air, vegetation, animals, community, and work). That same living, active, and power-filled word designed a plan and purpose for you before the foundation of the world. Just imagine it! See Ephesians 2:10 (NIV):
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
And Ephesians 1:3-5 (NIV) author emphasis added:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…
God prepared for humanity, and He prepared for you. Your parents may not have known you were coming, but God did. No matter the circumstances, He knew. I know my parents certainly didn’t plan for me to come. My mom was only 16 years old! But God knew. He didn’t create the situation, but He used it. Even if you were the product of a terrible heinous crime, or you were not wanted, God prepared for you. You are supposed to be here. God loves you more than you can even imagine, and He wants to know if you will look at His track record of doing something amazing with something that feels like not much, and allow Him to guide your life.
God is a greater genius than Patrick Mahomes. He is worthy of trust. To follow Him, listen to Him, be led by Him, you may want to rearrange your schedule, cancel some plans, get sleep, stop going out to bars, and prepare to glean everything you can from the One Who Created the Universe and YOU! Scripture says we can “have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
If he can make as beautiful, glorious, and intricate as the earth we live in from absolutely nothing, just imagine what He could do with someone as amazing as you.
I challenge you today. Listen to Him.
I love helping people learn how to hear from God. If you are interested, take a look at my book, Belief Rehab: You Are Enough. Together, we will discover what God planned when he created you, fall in love with the YOU that you’re becoming, and learn to find joy in the everyday moments. (Spoiler, You are enough because you have HIM!)
If you want to see a message I spoke recently on this topic, check it out our church
Facebook page, The Journey Humboldt. It starts around minute 58:00
Please, leave a comment, share a testimony, or let us know if you found this helpful in any way.
Wonderful writing and message. Thank you so much. God indeed has taught me to trust him by sending difficulties in my life and they have turned out by his plan for good.