I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.     John 15:5-6 CSB

The Bible tells us in numerous passages, “Do not be deceived.” Essentially, we are being warned not to fall for the devil’s lies. One of the biggest lies the devil tells us is, “You’ve got this, you don’t need any help.” The devil wants us to think we can handle whatever comes our way.

The truth is we can handle nothing. Our Scripture passage for today tells us we can do nothing without Christ. It tells us that if we don’t remain in Him, we will be like a dead branch. We will only wither and be thrown into the fire.

I have found myself frustrated many times and wondering, “What will I do?” I found the answer to that question in Proverbs 3:5-6. The first thing I needed to do was trust in the LORD with all my heart. I also had to be sure not to rely on my own understanding. This is a biggie because we all like to rely on our own understanding of a situation or our perception of a situation.

We see our problems as being bigger than life and some are, but none are bigger than the God we serve. This is where trusting Him with all our heart comes in. Then Proverbs 3:6 tells us to acknowledge Him in all we do, or all our ways and He will make our paths straight.

We all know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but many times I have taken a crooked path which sometimes seemed to just lead me around in circles with no end in sight. I have learned the hard way to trust in God and let Him guide me so He can make my paths straight.

Now verse 7 warns us against being wise in our own eyes and goes on to tell us to fear the LORD and turn away from evil. When we say things like, “I’ve got this!” We imply that we are in control. This is a mistake, a huge mistake. God is in control of all things. We should never fail to acknowledge this. We don’t take another breath unless God allows us to do so.

We often needlessly struggle to work things out or figure things out failing to turn to God. This goes against what we are told in our Scripture passage for today and in Proverbs 3:5-7. Often, we do more harm than good.

We are told in 2 Timothy 3:5 that in the end days, many will hold to a form of godliness but deny its power.  Are you doing that? Are you going to church and saying you believe in God but still trying to do everything your way and under your power?

If so, you are going against what the Bible tells us to do. We are to remain in Him. Matthew 6:33 tells us to focus on Him and His righteousness and He will take care of all we need.

Remain in Him, trust in Him with all your heart, and acknowledge Him in all you do. Whatever you do, don’t rely on your own understanding. I have made the biggest mess of things by trusting my understanding or my perception of the problem. Trust Him to straighten out your crooked path or the mess you have made.

Most importantly, never consider yourself wise. This is pride and God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13). We are told in James 1:5 that wisdom comes from God. If we lack wisdom, we should ask God who will give it generously without reproach.

Never say, “I’ve got this!” Always acknowledge God’s power. Let your mantra be, “God’s got this”.

Love Him with all your heart, trust Him with all your heart, and acknowledge Him in all you do. Surrender all to Him. He’s got this.

Have a great day!