01-09
Proverbs 3:5-6 / Psalm 27:14 (NIV)
"Trust in the Lord"
A word from The General
A few years ago, I found myself thinking about my reach. Over the years, I had been blessed with opportunities to speak one-on-one with people about Jesus, who He is, what He offers, and what it means to believe in Him, trust in Him, and place our faith in Him.
The conversations were meaningful, but my circle of influence felt very small.
The thought occurred to me that if you throw a pebble into a pond, the ripple travels far beyond the point where it entered the water. I wanted to throw that pebble into interconnected oceans, rivers, and lakes and simply see where the ripple would go.
I wanted to promote Jesus worldwide.
Not religion.
Not denominations.
Jesus.
Who He is.
What He represents.
And the hope that is found in Him.
It is a gift to know Jesus. Yet many people have never truly been introduced to Him. Others have been introduced to religion without ever being introduced to the Savior Himself. I wanted to help change that.
So, I began thinking about how to reach farther and farther and farther. Slowly, the ideas that would eventually become Iron Eagle Ministry and Company Triple 7 began to take shape.
That was nearly three years ago.
The road has not always been easy. There have been hurdles, delays, technical problems, and more than a few moments where life would have been much simpler if I had simply given up and walked away.
Even now, I am not quite there. The ministry continues to grow one step at a time. The website continues to add Encouragement devotionals, and for the foreseeable future, it will continue to do so.
Before I started this journey, I prayed and asked God if this was truly what He wanted me to do. If I am being honest, there have been times when I have felt as though I received mixed signals.
So I continue to pray.
I continue to listen.
I continue to place one foot in front of the other.
And I carry on.
Some people believe faith means always knowing exactly where God is leading.
I am not sure that has been my experience.
More often, faith has meant trusting God with the next step while He keeps the rest of the road to Himself.
Perhaps that is what Solomon meant when he wrote:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
As for me, I look forward to sharing the many aspects of this ministry in the years ahead. Perhaps along the way, you will see why perseverance, through the Holy Spirit and the Light of Jesus, has led my way in promoting Jesus worldwide.
And if Jesus ever knocks on your door...
Answer it.
-The General
-In God We Trust-
Scripture
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."
-Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Background
The Book of Proverbs was written primarily by King Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel. Solomon is remembered as one of the wisest men who ever lived. When God offered him anything he desired, Solomon asked not for wealth, power, or long life, but for wisdom to govern God's people well.
God granted that request.
Yet Solomon eventually discovered something that many of us spend our lives learning:
Wisdom alone does not remove uncertainty.
Even the wisest people eventually come to roads where the future cannot be seen clearly.
Proverbs was written to help ordinary people navigate life with God's wisdom rather than relying entirely upon human understanding.
Perhaps nowhere is that truth stated more clearly than in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Meaning of: "Lean Not on Your Own Understanding"
There is nothing wrong with understanding.
God gave us minds to think, reason, plan, and prepare.
There is wisdom in careful decision making.
There is wisdom in experience.
There is wisdom in seeking good counsel.
But there are moments in life when our understanding reaches its limit.
Sometimes God calls us to take a step before we fully understand where that step will lead.
That can be uncomfortable.
We prefer maps.
We prefer certainty.
We prefer knowing exactly where the road ends before taking the first step.
Faith often works differently.
God rarely hands us the entire blueprint.
More often, He provides enough light for the next step and asks us to trust Him with the
steps that follow.
Trusting God does not mean ignoring wisdom or abandoning common sense.
It means recognizing that God's understanding is greater than our own.
It means holding our plans loosely enough for God to redirect them when necessary.
Be encouraged today.
-In God We Trust-
