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Daily Devotion: 1 Thessalonians 3:11

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1 Thessalonians 3:11    "Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you."

Paul had already expressed his desire to see these dear saints, but was hindered from going. He had sent Timothy to affirm Paul's wellbeing (even in prison) and to affirm to Paul that the Thessalonians were doing well and maintaining their faith in the Lord. There can be no doubt Paul loved all of God's people, but we can see the love Paul had for these saints of God and the special relationship with them.  His desire was to see them face to face once again.

We find a very simple, yet wonderful, truth in today's text.  "Now God ... direct our way."  Have you ever made plans only to have something come up to hinder you from following through with those plans?  We all have had that to happen, haven't we?  Have you ever, in that moment, tried to maneuver the situation to fit your plans and your time schedule?  The wise man Solomon wrote (by inspiration of God), "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)  We desire to do things; yet the truth of all matters is that God is in control of our lives. I'm thankful for that, aren't you?  I certainly would make a terrible mess if I had absolute control of my life.  I realize God allows us to make certain decisions and sometimes they work. But in the ultimate scheme of life, I believe the Word of God:  "Now the LORD directs (my) steps."  Praise His Holy Name!

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  (6)  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverb 3:5-6)  Through the years, many people have told me these verses are some of their very favorite. I believe them. I love them also.  But sometimes, do you think when we say that we "trust the Lord with all our hearts" - that we really are trusting that He will do what we want Him to do?  We trust Him to open the way for us to obtain what we want in life. We trust Him to bring about the desired results of circumstances and situations.  But, do we truly trust Him with all our hearts?  Do we lean completely upon Him and His wisdom rather than our desires and our understanding of what we want accomplished?  I admit these are hard questions and require deep soul searching.  

Solomon says we need to lay our own wants, desires, and plans into the hands of the Lord and lean completely (trust) upon Him. His decisions concerning our lives will bring a peace that passes all understanding that will keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. It is a peace that goes beyond anything we could ever imagine. If we will simply trust our Lord, He will direct our paths.  According to the Shepherd boy, David, what kind of path does the Lord lead us? "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23:3)  It was upon these very same principles of absolute trust  that Paul was able to say to the Thessalonians, "Now God ... direct our way."   May He indeed direct each of our ways.

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