April 20, 2017 … Trusting Him Today

Berry Patch Devotions in 2017 - Day 110 

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics of Big Daddy Weave singing the old hymn … Trust and Obey … singing God’s call for us to trust Him to lead us … even tho we have such a default desire to control our own lives.

  See image of “Riding A Tandem Bike” below 
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Highlight Verse[s]: Genesis 12:1 … [NLT] … 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 
… Breaking with his instincts, Abram followed God’s command to follow Him.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Genesis 12:1-9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God called Abram; and He followed a God he had never known before.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … 
3 Trust in the Lord with all your heart: do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. 
… Solomon’s advice simply goes against our nature; but it’s the only meaningful way to go in life.

Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Matthew 4:18-20 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… When Jesus called the fisherman away from their boats/nets to follow Him, … they did.

  Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … 
23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. …” 
… Jesus call all His true disciples to deny self and follow Him.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, used a clever personal story to illustrate how we need to break from our nature and let God take control. The ODB author wrote: For our wedding anniversary, my husband borrowed a tandem bike so we could enjoy a romantic adventure together. As we began to pedal on our way, I quickly realized that as the rider on the back my vision of the road ahead was eclipsed by my husband’s broad shoulders. Also, my handlebars were fixed; they didn’t affect the steering of our bike. Only the front handlebars determined our direction; mine served merely as support for my upper body. I had the choice to either be frustrated by my lack of control or to embrace the journey and trust Mike would guide us safely on our route. 

And as with the ODB author, we have to realize and decide to go against our nature and let God take control of the tandem bike of life. It’s our “Adamic” nature to want to take control of the wheel of life, isn’t it? … We want to lead, now follow, … as we walk down the path of life; no matter how many forks in life we may encounter. It’s just not our nature to do what Big Daddy Weave sings in today’s linked song … to “trust and obey.”

So, when Abram was confronted by an unknown God (see highlight passage), a God Who called him to go into an unknown land, it took a special degree of surrender to do so. … When Jesus called Peter and Andrew away from their boats to follow Him, they had to break with their natural life to do so. … And when Jesus calls us to deny our self and follow Him [see Luke 9:23], it’s going to take a break from our natural default to control, to trust and obey our Lord … and let Him take the wheel of life.

The question for all who read here today is … WILL WE? Will we do what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6; because, … as Big Daddy Weave sings in the old hymn … “there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” 

My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … dear Lord, …I trust You; show me the way … YOUR WAY. … Amen

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.