Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6  NKJV

Have you ever heard the phrase, “my way or the highway”.  It is used to describe someone that is unyielding.  This describes someone that has to do everything their way and expects everyone else to also do things their way.  These people believe there are two ways to do things:  their way or the wrong way.  They believe they are always right.  Now sadly, as human beings, when we do it our way we are seldom right.  By this I mean that when we don’t follow God and heed his instructions, we tend to make a mess of things.  I am speaking from my own personal experience.  Perhaps you do everything perfectly and never make a mistake, or perhaps you just think you do.

Either way, when we do things without consulting God or stopping to think about how He would have us to handle a particular situation, we are showing a lack of faith.  If you truly trust God with all your heart, then you should have no problem lifting any and all situations up to Him and handling them in the way that He would have you to, right?

Now let’s look at two temptations in the Bible.  In Genesis chapter 3, we see the first time the devil tempted a human being and sin was brought into the world.  This very cunning serpent convinced Eve that God didn’t really mean what He had said to her and that she would gain great wisdom if she ate the forbidden fruit.  He basically told her, “aw go ahead and do it, God won’t care”.  Eve succumbed to this temptation and also brought Adam into sin with her.  They were run out of the garden of Eden and mankind still suffers the punishment of their decision today.  Now the second temptation that I want to talk about is in Matthew chapter 4 and Mark chapter 1.  Jesus was brought, by the spirit, into the wilderness to be tested.  Jesus used God’s word to resist the temptation of the devil and succeeded in overcoming the temptation put forth by the devil.

Our scripture passage today tells us to trust the Lord, not what we think is right.  It also tells us to submit to Him in all our ways.  We are told to do things His way, not our way.  This is really hard to do because of human nature and because of the temptation of the devil.  So what’s a mere mortal to do?  Well, first and foremost be prayed up.  The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Ephesian 6:18).  We are also told to daily put on God’s Armor (Ephesians 6:10-18).  If we fail to plan then we plan to fail.  Be prepared for the temptations that are sure to come your way.  The harder you work for God, the harder the devil will work to win you over to his side.  If he can’t win you over, then he will at least try to destroy your witness.  The devil is always prowling around looking for a weakness in us that he can pounce on and use to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8).  Charles Stanley once did a sermon on temptation and said something that has stuck with me.  He said that we are most susceptible to temptation when we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired.  The devil tempted Jesus by telling him to turn a piece of stone to bread after Jesus had fasted for 40 days and nights.  Anger is the human emotion that is most likely to cause us to get into trouble.  Loneliness leads people into extramarital affairs and all kinds of trouble.  And, I don’t know about you, but when I get tired, I get cranky and that’s not good.  That can get me into big trouble.   The acronym for this is HALT.  So stop and think when you are being tempted.  What weakness is the devil going after?

When you are tempted, turn to 1 Corinthians 10:13 and read God’s word.  This scripture says that no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

So as you read this, I ask you to stop for a minute and think about your life right now.  Is there any area where you are being tempted to do things your way even though you know it is not the way that God would have you to do them?  If so, ask yourself why the temptation is so great?  What human emotion is fueling this fire?  Ask yourself what you will gain if you do it your way?  Will this give you bragging rights?  The Bible tells us that pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18).

God’s word tells us in Romans 12:2 that we are not to be conformed to this world, but that we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds.  It tells us that by testing, we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

My friend, I have no idea what you may be going through today, but I promise you that you will be much better off if you handle it God’s way.  I have tried my way and His way, and my way has always lead to more problems.  In the last couple years, I have faced problems that were honestly the hardest times I have ever faced in my life.  I had a tendency to see what I could do about it.  I finally realized that when I let go and God took over that all things started working for my good, just like we are told they will in Romans 8:28.  We serve a God that is faithful.  He won’t let us down.  But when we take matters into our own hands and start doing things our way, he backs off and lets us go.  That is not good.  I have learned that things go so much better for me when I just follow the instructions in God’s word.

Proverbs 29:11 tells us that a fool gives vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

When someone wrongs you, the devil will try to convince you to seek revenge, but Romans 12:19 tells us that we are to leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written:  “It is mine to avenge, I will repay.” says the Lord.  When God takes revenge for someone wronging one of his children, it is not pretty.  In my situation I actually found myself on my knees praying for God to let up on this person.

Trust God! He’s got your back and He will not let you down.  Walk close to Him and let Him handle your problems.  When you feel compelled to do something be sure that it is God telling you to do it. Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk in the spirit so that we will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Today, if you are dealing with an emotion, remember our scripture.  Don’t rely on your own understanding, but trust God wholeheartedly.  In everything you do acknowledge Him and He will keep you on the straight and narrow path.  Trust me that’s the best place to be.

Have a great day!