Latest / She Speaks Life - Christian Women, Strengthen Your Faith, Bible Study, Grow Spiritually In Christ / Fuel Your Life! Trusting God Completely: How to Lean Not on Your Own Understanding with Jayme Elizabeth
Transcript
- 0:00Hey beautiful friends, welcome back to She Speaks live podcast
- 0:04and joining me in this Feel your life episode today.
- 0:09I am so thankful you are here because I truly believe God has
- 0:14a fresh word for us, a word that brings clarity when life feels
- 0:19confusing, peace when wrong thoughts try to weigh us down
- 0:23and confidence when the future looks uncertain.
- 0:27So let me ask you, what are are you caring right now?
- 0:31Maybe it's financial pressure. Maybe it's concerns about your
- 0:35children or your marriage. Maybe it's health struggles or
- 0:38decisions you don't know how to make.
- 0:41Or maybe you're just tired of trying to figure everything out
- 0:45on your own. And if you're like me, if you've
- 0:49ever whispered, Lord, I don't know what to do next, then this
- 0:53verse is for you. It's Proverbs 3, five through 6,
- 0:57and it says trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
- 1:02on your own understanding in all your ways.
- 1:05Submit to Him, and He will make your path straight.
- 1:10It's only 2 verses, but inside them is this entire road map for
- 1:15how to live with freedom, direction, and peace.
- 1:19And so today we're going to break it down, look at the
- 1:22Hebrew roots, personalize it for our own lives, and leave with
- 1:27declarations that anchor us in God's truth.
- 1:31So let's unpack this step by step.
- 1:34Let's start with trust in the Lord.
- 1:38The Hebrew word for trust, rest is buttock.
- 1:41It means to rely on, to feel safe, to put your full weight
- 1:46on. Every time we sit, we are
- 1:50putting our weight on a chair, right?
- 1:53That's what it means to trust God.
- 1:55It's not partial, it's not hesitant, but it's this complete
- 2:00reliance. And I love to say that trusting
- 2:04is resting. It should ultimately give us
- 2:07this relief. Think about it, when we sit in a
- 2:11chair, we aren't normally thinking if this chair is going
- 2:15to hold us. And I often think that this
- 2:18should be the way we should trust God.
- 2:21We should respond to God knowing that if he got me through this,
- 2:25then He will get me through that.
- 2:27So therefore I can trust Him in whatever situation.
- 2:32And so often we got to remember that the enemy is always wanting
- 2:37us to turn inward, to look, look at ourselves and try to use our
- 2:43and try to make us think. We have to use our own reasoning
- 2:47or ability to figure something out.
- 2:49So we often can do this instead of going to God first.
- 2:55But remember that God always intends for us to trust him
- 2:59because ultimately he is trustworthy.
- 3:02He doesn't fail. He is the source of all the
- 3:06supply ability and strength, and because we are in Christ, we can
- 3:11draw on his supply ability and strength and peace to equip us.
- 3:17In fact, in Colossians it says that we are complete in Christ.
- 3:22It says that we are in union with Christ and so God's plan
- 3:28for us is so great that it will require Him in all that we do.
- 3:35So trusting in Him is going to be vital to our journey in life.
- 3:41And when we see that verse, trust in the Lord with all your
- 3:46heart. This means it's not going to be
- 3:50surface level trust. It's an undivided loyalty to
- 3:55Him. So often I believe we say we
- 3:58trust God, but deep in our hearts we have doubt or we go
- 4:03through this what ifs. When we trust the Lord with all
- 4:07our hearts, it's our inner being, this core where our
- 4:10spirit communes with the Holy Spirit, where it should yield to
- 4:14the Holy Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us where the
- 4:17Lord wants us to go and not have our thoughts or flesh leading.
- 4:23Which takes me to the second part of the verse and it says
- 4:27lean not on your own understanding.
- 4:31And I truly believe that this is where we can tend to get tripped
- 4:35up. The Hebrew word for lean is
- 4:38shahan, and meaning to support yourself on something fragile.
- 4:44Leaning on your own reasoning is like leaning on something very
- 4:49weak. It will eventually collapse.
- 4:52In fact, Jesus gives this very example in Matthew 724 through
- 4:5627. And he says everyone then who
- 5:00hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise
- 5:04man who built his house on the rock.
- 5:07And the rains came, and on floods came, and the wind blew
- 5:12and be on the House, but it did not fall because it had been
- 5:15founded on the rock. And in contrast the verse 26
- 5:20says, And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not
- 5:24do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the
- 5:28sand. And when the rain, flood, and
- 5:31wind beat against the house, it fell, and great was the fall of
- 5:36it. The house is our life, and the
- 5:39rock is Jesus, the word of God. Notice that both say they heard
- 5:46the words of Jesus, but one did what it said and the other
- 5:51didn't. So taking action and trusting
- 5:54God and rejecting the temptation to depend on our own way or
- 6:00thinking is wise. God's wisdom is solid and
- 6:05unshakable. Not trusting in God's way is
- 6:08foolish. And like it says that the house
- 6:11fell because it was built on weak foundation.
- 6:14Only God gives us that security and that firm foundation to hold
- 6:19us up when challenges come. And I also couldn't help but see
- 6:23that it said it was founded on the rock, meaning it already
- 6:28been established on that rock, the rock of God's words, so that
- 6:32when we are faced with any situation, we have His word
- 6:36already taken root in our hearts to keep us in His perfect peace
- 6:41and upheld by Him through it all.
- 6:44Now the next portion of this verse is in all your ways submit
- 6:49to Him, submit. The Hebrew word here is yada,
- 6:54meaning to know intimately, to acknowledge deeply, to recognize
- 6:59submitting is relational. It's not these casual check INS
- 7:04with God, but it's this active surrender to him saying have
- 7:08every detail of my life Lord. It's saying I recognize or
- 7:12acknowledge that you are all powerful and all knowing.
- 7:16I'm submitting myself to you and saying have your way in me.
- 7:20God. This is a place of reverence to
- 7:23him that he is who he says he is and he will do what he says he
- 7:28will do. And the last part of this verse
- 7:31is and he will make your path straight.
- 7:35The word for straight is Yashar and meaning to make smooth to
- 7:40clear obstacles to align with God's will.
- 7:43God doesn't just point us in the right direction.
- 7:47He removes what doesn't belong and aligns us with his perfect
- 7:51plan. I mean, how beautiful is that
- 7:54Jesus came to give us life and life abundantly and we can rely
- 7:59on God's promises that he will give us clarity because he's not
- 8:03a God of confusion. And if we we do our part by
- 8:06applying the word to our lives, by trusting submitting to him
- 8:10and live with what I call the spiritual antenna throughout our
- 8:14day, we are going to start to see the right steps to take for
- 8:18the path that He's already laid out before us.
- 8:21In fact, Isaiah 3021 says, whether you turn to the right or
- 8:26left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying this is
- 8:30the way. Walk in it, being attentive and
- 8:34intentional and hearing the Holy Spirit is so crucial and knowing
- 8:39next steps. It's not just in our quiet time
- 8:42in the mornings. We can also commune and be on
- 8:45purpose to hear Him throughout our day.
- 8:48And as we do, we'll see more of His guiding and more of what He
- 8:53wants to reveal to us and making decisions and giving us that
- 8:57clarity that we so need. So now let's make this verse
- 9:02personal. This is my favorite part.
- 9:04This is where we're going to personalize this verse.
- 9:07And it could sound something like this.
- 9:09Lord, I trust You with all my inner being.
- 9:13I will not lean on my limited understanding and every
- 9:18decision. I acknowledge you and invite you
- 9:21in. Thank you for making my path
- 9:24straight, smooth and aligned with your will.
- 9:28Now let's say it with our name inserted in the scripture verse.
- 9:33So I'll say, Jamie, trust in the Lord with all your heart.
- 9:37Do not lean on your own understanding.
- 9:40In all my ways, I will acknowledge Him and He will make
- 9:44my path straight. So friend, I mean, we often see
- 9:50this verse on a mug or Waller or on journal, but this is Cod's
- 9:54living word directed to you right now.
- 9:58It's personal to you. And so one of the many features
- 10:03of the Serenity Journal that I have taken this verse out of the
- 10:07contentment section. And if you'd like to have your
- 10:10own copy of this journal, you can use the link below to go on
- 10:13my website. And there's a place here that we
- 10:17can identify God's characteristics.
- 10:20It's basically asking what does this verse reveal about who God
- 10:24is? So I see He is faithful.
- 10:28We can put the full weight of our lives on Him and He will
- 10:31never fail. He is wise.
- 10:34His perspective is higher than ours.
- 10:37He sees the beginning, middle and end.
- 10:40He is intimate. He doesn't just want part of our
- 10:43lives, He desires to be invited into every detail.
- 10:47And I see that He's sovereign. He makes our paths straight,
- 10:50removing obstacles and guiding us into His will.
- 10:55So friend, this means we can stop the striving to control
- 10:58everything. God is already who He says He is
- 11:02faithful, wise, intimate, and sovereign.
- 11:06So how do we live this out? Well #1 it's a surrender.
- 11:11Daily start each morning saying, Lord, what would you have me do
- 11:16today? I give you my plans and submit
- 11:19to your wisdom. And also, and James, it says, if
- 11:22you need wisdom, ask for wisdom and God will give you all the
- 11:27wisdom you need. And then #2 pause before
- 11:32decisions, before sending that e-mail or making that choice.
- 11:38Ask God what honors you here. And #3 is stop rehearsing the
- 11:44what ifs. I think this is a major one in
- 11:48our life when we rehearse those what ifs and I look at those
- 11:54what ifs where the Scripture verse it says cast down all
- 12:00imaginations that go against the Word of God.
- 12:04And so the casting down imaginations that go against the
- 12:09word of God, I see those as the what ifs.
- 12:13So trust means trading our what ifs for God's promises, making
- 12:19those what ifs submit to the word of God.
- 12:24Changing the the what ifs is the wrong thinking into the right
- 12:28thinking, Taking those what ifs which are really lies and
- 12:35replacing them with God's truth, with his promises.
- 12:39So the 4th 1 is remember his past faithfulness.
- 12:43This is key to look back on how he's carried you before.
- 12:47If he did it, then he will do it again.
- 12:51This is so good when you have a journal and you're recording
- 12:55your thoughts, you're recording your prayers.
- 12:58Oftentimes I'll go back and then I could see all of God's
- 13:01faithfulness that I have gone back to see He has answered
- 13:07those prayers or He's come through for me.
- 13:11So remember, trust is not passive.
- 13:14It's an active surrender. So I did want to give you a
- 13:18brief testimony about this verse because it is so special to me
- 13:24because of, well, this testimony that I'm going to share.
- 13:27So I'll never forget in 2008, it was the economy downslide and my
- 13:33husband and I were going through extreme financial hardship and
- 13:38we had to short sell our home. And with three small kids, you
- 13:41can imagine I was really struggling with trusting God for
- 13:46what the future holds. And I got invited to a Valentine
- 13:51gathering. It was like a kids party in the
- 13:53neighborhood. And so I was very hesitant and
- 13:57going anyway. And one of the moms bluntly
- 14:02asked me about my home situation.
- 14:05She said, I heard you were losing your home.
- 14:09And, you know, you can imagine. I just felt so exposed and and
- 14:14ashamed. It wasn't, you know, some public
- 14:16news. I hardly knew most of these moms
- 14:21anyway. And so in that moment, though,
- 14:24right when I was opening my mouth to give some surfaced
- 14:28answer, my son, who was 11 at the time, came running into the
- 14:33kitchen where I was and handed me a paper heart that said
- 14:38Proverbs 3, five through 6. And he told me, God said you
- 14:43needed this. And I tell you, like, right then
- 14:48and there, God just reminded me, Jamie, lean on me.
- 14:53I see you, I've got you, you can trust me.
- 14:57I mean, I instantly was just so overwhelmed with God's love and
- 15:03His comfort. Like as if he was just hugging
- 15:06my heart. And looking back I can see how
- 15:10He directed our path. Not the way I expected, but the
- 15:14way He knew was best. And because I obeyed Him, there
- 15:17were so many blessings along the way and there continues to be.
- 15:22So if you're watching this on video, I just held up the little
- 15:27heart that my son had sketched on there the verse.
- 15:31And because it was, oh gosh, back in what, 2010?
- 15:36That's why it looks so old. But you could tell I carry this
- 15:41verse so dear to my heart because of what my son did, but
- 15:46what God did through my son. And so this verse will always be
- 15:53one of my favorites that I will hold dear to forever.
- 15:58So, so let's declare this verse together.
- 16:01Let's say these things out loud because you know, this podcast
- 16:06called She speaks live. We speak out life words.
- 16:10We speak out God, God's truth, which is life.
- 16:14And so let's say it together. I trust God completely with my
- 16:18life. I will not depend on my limited
- 16:21understanding. I acknowledge God in every
- 16:25detail of my life. God is making my path straight,
- 16:29clear, and aligned with His will.
- 16:32I rest in His wisdom, His timing and His guidance.
- 16:38So as I close here, I want to just leave you with this, that
- 16:43remember the enemy wants you to lean on fear, logic and the
- 16:47self-reliance. But your father invites you to
- 16:50lean on him, on his wisdom, his strength, his unshakable love.
- 16:56Victory is not found in control, it's found in the surrender.
- 17:00When you trust him with all your heart, he doesn't just guide
- 17:03you, he clears the path ahead for you.
- 17:07So don't forget, forget this verse in the contentment section
- 17:11of the Serenity Journal. If you'd like to go deeper into
- 17:14personalizing scripture and reflecting on God's character,
- 17:17grab your copy through the link in the show notes.
- 17:20And if this encouraged you, please share it with a loved 1.
- 17:25And I always love feedback. So let me know how this blessed
- 17:29you. And until next time, God bless.
- 17:32Hey there, thank you for listening to this to the end.
- 17:35Stay tuned for more teachings as we go go through the contentment
- 17:39series straight from my journal, Serenity, Calm your Soul and
- 17:44Strengthen Your Spirit. And if you'd like to own your
- 17:47own copy, go to jamieelizabeth.com or you can
- 17:52hit the link below in the show notes.
- 17:54And since this is a new release, I'd love to bless you with a
- 17:59checkout discount of 15% off plus free shipping.
- 18:03Use code VIP15 in the promo code section as you check out.
- 18:11And also I do have a fun quiz going on.
- 18:15It's on my website where you can find out what kind of journal
- 18:19writer you are. So go ahead explorer on my
- 18:23website. Again, that's Jamie
- 18:25elizabeth.com, JAYME elizabeth.com.
- 18:30And don't forget this episode is live on in video on YouTube and
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- 18:43OK, have a blessed day, we'll chat.