To place trust in our self, our wisdom, our own understanding and that of the world, is to step out from the shadow of the Almighty and to step away from His divine protection. He is the Shepherd who keeps us safe from the wolves all around us…wolves which stay at a distance because of the presence of the Good Shepherd.
To walk away from His presence, to be lured out away from him by the shiny, tempting things of this world…the things that entice…that appeal to fleshly lusts and desires…is to place ourselves and those we take with us, into certain danger. Distractions come along with one goal…to get our eyes off the Shepherd. If our eyes are off the Shepherd, we may keep walking straight when He has turned, we may keep walking when He has stopped, we may make that one degree turn off the path that leads to a greater separation with every step we take.
We are told to trust in the Lord with all our hearts…and not to lean on our own understanding…in all our ways, in everything we do…in our jobs, as we drive down the road, as we pursue dreams, as we do life with our spouse and our family and friends, we are to acknowledge him….not with our lips alone, but with our decisions, our conduct, in the integrity He has called us to walk…and he will direct our paths…our ways.
He will be our divine GPS system. We will never be lost, and a way will always be shown to us. When we make a bad decision and get off-track, His Spirit “recalculates” to get us back on track.
Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace (safe, well, happy, friendly, health, prosperity, peace, favor) him whose mind is steadfast (to lean upon or take hold of, bear up, establish, hold, lay, lean, lie hard, rest self, set self, stand fast, sustain), because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”