When Life Doesn't Make Sense

Happy Sunday. I was not feeling well last week and did not record a new sermon. And many of you reached out and let me know that you were praying for me. And I truly appreciate your kind messages.

If you noticed, we posted a sermon from a few years ago last week. Perhaps you use Facebook or YouTube or Instagram to watch my sermons. And I want you to know that you can go to my website, davidshivers.com, and you can find all the sermons that I've done since I started posting. It's been over 5 years now.

Thank you for watching. Also, many of you donated in 2025, and your tax records are in the mail from our 501c3. They went out today. Now, back to Proverbs.

Today we'll look at a at familiar words. In fact, many of you will know these words by heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.

Those words are found in Proverbs chapter 3:es 5 and six. And I love this teaching. It's the favorite of so many. It calls for complete trust in God rather than self-reliance.

And this is easier said than done. I can think of so many examples from my life. First, let's look at some examples from scripture. In Genesis 5, God tells Noah to build a boat, an ark, because God is going to flood the earth and start over.

God gives Noah the dimensions and tells him what he's to do. And it it just sounds impossible. Genesis 5:22 gives us Noah's reply. It says, "Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him."

So he did. Not a question. Didn't have to understand it. He trusted God.

Let me move to another familiar story. I'll read the first three verses of Genesis 22. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him,"Abraham." Abraham responded, "Here I am."

And then God said, "Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love. Go to the land of Mariah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. and he split the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Now, as you know, if you know the rest of the story, God provided a sacrifice that day as a substitute for Isaac. And this story in Genesis is prophecy of the sacrifice of Jesus. It's fascinating to me that Abra Abraham would have such great great faith. He trusted God so much.

Again, here was God's command. Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love. Go to the land of Mariah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. Now, this is hard to fathom.

Isaac's birth was miraculous. Abraham had been waiting, and now God tells him to kill his son. Here's Abraham's reply. So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son.

He split the wood for the burnt offering and rose and went to the place which God had told him. We see here no questioning, no argument, only trust. Abraham trusted God completely more than he trusted in his own understanding because he could not have understood. We could go on and on.

Daniel calmed a lion. David killed a giant. In the New Testament, a little boy gave Jesus his lunch to feed thousands. And at the cemetery, Jesus had people roll away a stone at the grave of Lazarus after he'd been gone for 4 days.

Trusting God leads to amazing things. In my own life, I have seen the words of Proverbs 35 and 6 come true. Looking back three times in my ministry, I have left a growing, healthy church that I loved to go to a smaller place. It didn't make sense on paper, not really in my mind.

Yet, God truly showed off and blessed what we did. I must brag on my wife. As God called me, she trusted me and trusted God in those situations. My life has been made better because of each move.

And although to my eyes it did not make sense, I did not understand, but trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. What is God telling you to do? Is it a matter of trust? Go ahead, trust him.

Let him direct your paths. Pray with me. God, we all have different journeys and we all need to trust. And sometimes when we rely on our own understanding, we we mess up.

Help us to be obedient and to follow you. Bless each one that watches. A big storm's on the way this coming weekend, it seems. And we just ask for your watch care and your protection.

And let us help who we can help through this storm. Thank you for being with us through every moment. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

God bless. Thanks for being with me today.