Beyond the Weekend: GOD IS...
People have a lot of thoughts about God. Some say he is angry and vengeful. Some say he is a buddy or best friend. But what does Scripture tell us about God?
Understanding the character of God matters. It changes how we meet him in our everyday lives. It changes how we understand the world around us, and his work in it. And it changes our prayer life and how we talk and hear from him. Understanding the character of God leads us to living lives of obedience and worship.
Join Pastors Aaron Buer, Jeff Manion and Brad Holmes in our 10-week series GOD IS ..., a study on the identity and character of God, and learn how your faith can grow as you know God better.
Submit and Trust
Read: Proverbs 3:5-6 Listen: Proverbs 3
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
God is limitless. He is the great I AM, who is greater than our minds can comprehend fully. Because of this reality, we should be a people of faith—people who submit to God and trust him as the infinite and wise ruler over all things. Consequently, the Bible calls us to be people who trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). Such a command is rooted in the very character and nature of God. We are commanded to trust God with our whole hearts because he is the only one worthy of such devotion.
To fail to trust God is to rival God. It is to trust oneself or other created things instead of the Creator. Though this seems foolish, this is exactly what we do when we sin or turn away from God and his ways. God desires, however, that we constantly grow in appreciation of his greatness and submit ourselves to him and his ways. We can trust God to lead us. He will make our paths straight. Will we trust him?
TODAY: Take some time today to consider where you might be attempting to rival God. Is there something that you have resisted surrendering to God fully? Maybe it involves your family, career, or finances. Confess anything God reveals to you and ask God for the grace to live a life of full surrender and trust.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Psalm 23. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Consider how Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).
