Meditation is Easy Part 2 ~ Week 6

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Trust in the Lord and lean not on what? Your own understanding. What is my own understanding? What do I understand? I understand what I see in front of me. I easily understand what I see. I have evidence of it because I can see it with my own eyes.

I lean on what I see. I worry on what I see. I have disappointments based on what I see. I have frustration based on what I see. I experience stress based on what I see. I lean on my own understanding, and I understand what I see in front of me. Thus I lean on what I see. I lean on my own understanding. I lean on what I see. So I lean on the fact that bank account is low. I lean on the fact that my marriage is not going well. I lean on the fact that my parent is not well.

I lean on: my bills are hard to pay. my children are not doing well in school. my relationships are hurtful. my life is too busy. my schedule is difficult. my children are not getting much from their activities. I lean on what I can see happening to me. It is right in front of me. It's hard to deny it or ignore it. I see it! It is hard not to do just that. But God is asking us to try something different. Actually, He is telling us to do something different. Listen carefully as you read. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Lean not on your own understanding. Lean not on what you see. Lean not on your problems and worries. To trust in the Lord with all your heart, you have to learn to not lean on what you understand and what problems you see. This is yet another aspect of trust. Trust is when you do not lean on what you understand but on what God says and his promises. Trust is having the ability to stop looking at what is in front of you (what is happening to you) and look at God's Word. Trust has many different definitions. We learned that trust in God means taking refuge in Him and watching his shield protect us. Trust also means having confidence in his Word. We learned to gain more confidence in his Word, we need to put it in our hearts through meditation. This week we will concentrate on trusting in the Lord by not leaning on our own understanding. Meditate on Proverbs 3:5 this week, paying close attention to the words lean not on your own understanding. Now your simple activity for the week is as follows: Each day (start now) write down these sentences and fill in the blank please. I trust in the LORD with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. I do not lean on what I see. Therefore I do not lean on _______________________________________________. Fill in the blank with that thing, circumstance, or problem that is filling your mind with frustration, stress, doubt or anything that inhibits you to trust God. Each day fill in the blank with whatever is on your mind that you know your Father God does not want you to lean on. Remember you Father God has declared to you that He knows the plans he has for you. He told you that He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you. He told you that He will give you hope and a future. Focus on that when you choose what to fill in that day. MEDITATION AND ACTIVITY THIS WEEK:

I trust in the LORD with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. I do not lean on what I see. Therefore I do not lean on ______________________________________________ because God knows the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me. His plans are to give me hope and a future. (from Jeremiah 29:11) Throughout the day say exactly what you wrote. Write it down on several index cards, paper, your hand, somewhere please. We have a job to do here. We are learning to trust our Lord with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding. We must work to do it.

In Mark 4:23-24 NIV, Jesus tell us this:

If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Consider carefully what you hear, he continued. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Jesus is telling us to listen carefully to the Word and with the measure you use it, will be the measure you receive it. Listen carefully to the Word of God. But then use it so that the amount you use will be the amount you receive of it and even more. Do you understand? Jesus wants us to listen carefully to the Word. That is exactly what we are trying to do through the use of meditation. We are in the midst of listening carefully. That is great! That is fantastic! We are there. However, Jesus then points out that with the measure, the amount, we use of it, will be the amount we receive. If we take the Word, meditate on it, but don't use it (or not often) then we don't receive as much from it. But if we take God's words and use it, then we will receive from it the amount we use and even more. We have to use it! The good news is that we have demonstrated that “we have ears to hear.” We have listened, “Let him hear.” And we are working on carefully considering just what we hear through our meditation and lessons on meditation. So don't despair, we are moving right along. My, oh my, we have accomplished the first two things that Jesus ask of us: 1.“If anyone has ears to hear, Let him hear.” 2.“Consider carefully what you hear.” Girls we are doing good, no great! Just one more step this week. With the measure we use it, will be the measure we receive it. In other words, the more we use his Word, the more we receive from it. The measure you put into many things will determine what you receive from it. The more you study the more you receive knowledge of what you studied. The more you put into your relationship with your child or husband, the more you receive from it. Therefore the more you use the Word of God, the more you receive from the Word of God. The more you actively trust in God by using your words and changing your thoughts, the more you will trust God. The more you actively do what God ask of you, the more you receive. So this week we are going to know that with the measure you use, it will be measured to you-and even more. We will take Proverbs 3:5 and use it. We will start using it by our words, by our mouths. We will write it down several times and place it where we can see it often. We will use Proverbs 3:5 by confessing it with our mouths this week. Yes, say it out loud as often as possible. Let the earth hear you declare God's truth and your agreement with it. Write and say: I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding. Therefore I do not lean on __________________________________________. Got it? Of course you do. You women of God are faithful, listening, and using the Word of God. I trust in the Lord with all my heart that you are growing stronger and stronger in God each week. I trust in the Lord with all my heart that God is working in your life and preparing great things for you. And I trust in the Lord with all my heart that you ladies (ladies I adore) have found that God does have a place in your busy schedule! Love, Truly