So I woke up this morning with this verse on my mind, “do not be wise in thine own eyes”. I decided to check where it is in the Bible and found it (thanks to google) in Proverbs chapter 3 about trusting in the Lord. So i began to study the chapter.

As I started reading, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to verse 3 and 4 which says,

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you, tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.

New living translation

So i began to ponder, that if a key to finding favor with God and man that will lead to long life is kindness and loyalty then what exactly do these terms mean? What does loyalty mean? From the Cambridge dictionary i found these meanings and definitions for both terms.

Loyalty – To be firm and unchanging in your friendship or support for a person or organization or your beliefs/principles.

And kindness – The quality of being generous (being helpful and caring about people or acts that show these qualities or anyone of them.

So in other words, if I keep helpfulness/generosity/a caring behavior in my heart and I am careful to live in a way that is firm and unchanging in my friendship or belief in God with the help of the Holy Spirit, then the result is favor with God and men alongside long life and a good reputation. Hmm interesting.

Verse 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all that you do, and he will show you which part to take.

What does it mean to trust or what does trust mean?

• It means to have confidence in something or to believe in someone.
• A belief that you can depend on someone.
• To believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you.
• It means someone is safe and reliable

So if I have to trust in the Lord, then i need to believe that he is someone that I can depend on, I need to believe that he is good, honest and will not harm me. I need to believe that God is safe and reliable and I also need to believe that I can be confident in him.

So the question is do I trust him? Now yes, I am learning to trust in him 100%.

Why? Because all through my life God has shown himself to be these things to me. Granted after my initial conversion or commitment to him, the enemy worked worked tirelessly to show that God is not true to these qualities. As a result I did not enjoy a deep and intimate relationship with God. I did not truly know his voice and found myself guessing which voice was his through the myriad of voices in my life. This led me to a frustrated walk with God devoid of intimacy and filled with a works mentality of how to please God. I came to a point in my life where I began to think that God is always angry with me because of sins I had committed in the past. I came to believe a lie that God’s love is conditional that if I performed my “duties” as a believer then God would accept me. And all the while feeling like I would never be accepted no matter what I did. A lie of the enemy.

It has taken God separating and isolating me for himself so that I can relearn about him again and about his love for me. Initially I thought I was being punished because I felt isolated from everyone including my family and close friends. But I have come to realize (thank God) that it is God reaching out to me to shower me with his love again so I can get to know him genuinely. To help me cultivate and build a real relationship with him based on his love for me not my works for him. I am realizing daily that God loves me tenderly through his kind and loving acts to me, his generous provisions, his constant attention and daily assurance which is just what I need and crave to be loved.

I am still unlearning the old ways of the enemy such as doubt, fear and unbelief because they were built over a long period of time, decades. But God is showing and proving himself to be a patient and loving father. Sometimes I still FEEL that he is angry with me but he is quick to reassure by releasing his love through his voice and his word. This gives me assurance and joy in my soul. May I continue to know him more and more so that I can continue to trust in him and seek him in all that I do, Amen.

If you took the time to read this blog, then God bless you and if you do not have a personal relationship with God or yours is blighted by the enemy through fear, unbelief and a sense of rejection, then allow me to introduce you to the father who loves you dearly and wants to know you. Simply say this prayer,

Dear father, I realize that I need you in my life to help me know you. Forgive me of my sins and I accept the love of Jesus in my heart and I accept him as my savior and Lord. Please come into my heart and help me know you in Jesus name.

That’s all, if you have said this prayer, your life will not remain the same because the king of kings will take up residence in your heart and set you on a course of life that will completely change your destiny. Welcome to the side of truth and may God bless you in Jesus name.