Leaning to Your Own Understanding Can Make a MESS of things

Have you ever been in situation where you thought you had a person, thing or even a situation "figured out"?  Have you ever had a moment where you felt the urge to help God out because you already "know" something?

So often we find ourselves in a bind because we "think" we know something. We think we know what somebody said, what somebody did, how someone is thinking, etc. We begin to assume things that really aren't true. Oftentimes, this can come from our own insecurity or fears. Sometimes, we jump to conclusions about things that we really don't know anything about!  

Examples would be:

1. They're not going to hire me.
2. They don't like me.
3. I'm under or over-qualified.
4. They got someone better than me in mind.
5. They're cheating on me. 
6. I don't have what I need to get started.
7. I don't have enough support.
8. Now is not the time or season for me.
9. I'm all alone. Nobody would understand me nor the situation I'm in.
10. God isn't listening to me.
11. I have nobody I can really trust.                                                                                              

The list can go on and on. If we are not careful, we will begin to trust our own understanding. When we trust our own understanding, we let ego in, and we begin to E.dge G.od O.ut.  Our thoughts take over and begin to consume us. Insecurities and fears creep in. Doubt becomes an issue. Our faith decreases. In the end, we are left with thoughts planted in our minds by the devil!

The bible has a remedy for that. 

Proverbs 3:5 "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."

God also sends us a reminder in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Following our minds or our hearts can get us in a lot of trouble. It can actually make more of a mess out of things than you already got. There is a cliche that the world gives us that says "follow your heart".  But the Bible tells us a little something different about the heart:

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

You only need to follow your heart if it is in alignment with what the spirit of God is saying. Remember, your heart is a part of the soul realm (mind, will, emotions,  intellect). Your soul always wants to fight against the spirit. We always have to direct our hearts in the direction towards the things of God. If we don't, our hearts will have us leading to our own understanding and completely missing what the spirit of the Lord is saying!

Tune in to my podcast below. I go deeper on what leaning to your own understanding will do. It's going to bless you. Make sure to share.