Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, July 23, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I feel like I’m a pretty insightful person. I spent years relying on my own insight to try to figure out the meaning of life and how to get whatever it was that I was certain would make me perpetually happy. For a while it seemed to work. But then it didn’t, and my life became so unmanageable I was passively suicidal.
I had to completely change the way I understood God and God’s presence and action in my life—as in, God actually was both present and taking action in my life, which beforehand I didn’t really believe. I had to learn to trust in God with all my heart and not rely on my own insight. The fact of the matter is that no matter how intelligent and insightful I might be, I am a human being and therefore incapable of seeing the big picture—God’s picture—for my life. When I allow myself to trust God, I have such peace and gratitude. That doesn’t mean my life is easy. It just means that I know God is right there with me, and together we can get through anything.
How do I put my trust in God rather than my own insight?
