Scriptural Base:
Proverbs 3:5-6
The “a” part of this verse contains simple yet profoundly penetrating instruction, and, knowing what we now know from the implication of what is meant by the biblical usage of the term “heart”, we can more clearly see the profundity of the instruction. From the framework and foundation of the pathways that lead to every choice we make, our reliance and step should lean on the word and direction of the Lord. Yet, as simple as this is, there is a grave problem, for, just as a car cannot drive without gas and a singer cannot utter a single note without lyrics, man cannot lean and rely on something he/she does not have. Therefore, one cannot possibly rely on God in the sense of this scripture without first putting God in the position to be known and then trusted. To this end, it is logically impossible to trust God beyond the level that you know Him and have trusted Him to reside in your heart.
If one is biblically saved from the human disposition of sin and its consequence [Ref 1], yet that same individual has resolved only to call on God for the complex problems, essentially, that individual keeps the Holy Spirit only in the “upper strata” of his or her spiritual heart.
Example: If life were expressed as a series of math problems, simple problems like, opening a door could be expressed as:
1 + 1 = 2
and more complex problems, like bills being due next week and not enough money being in possession of the individual, could be expressed as:
2x2 + 4 = 6
2x2 = 2
x2 = 1
x = 1
The question for this example is where do you place God or when do you employ your ability to commune with Him? Using the example of the complex problem above, one can apply a real life set of scenarios that allow a solution:
Example: Scenario:
2x2 + 4 = 6 The bills are due next week, but there’s not enough money
2x2 = 2 I pawned my t.v., but still don’t have enough
x2 = 1 I sold my tablet, I think I got enough now
x = 1 I pay my bills
Without getting too detailed, I believe that it can be concluded that this is a realistic and foreseeable mental pathway and set of events leading to a solution to a problem, yet God is NOWHERE in it. This may occur in any given individual, thousands of times a day and, without realizing it, we testify to God and ourselves how deeply He resides in our heart (where we invite Him by our own confession as believers) for the things we concern ourselves with in this life are clear and absolute manifestations of issues and concerns of our hearts (i.e. if it is important to you that your bills are paid, that could be a manifestation of your hearts desire for personal and familial well being). For, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks [Ref 2], and before the mouth can open to form a single syllable, a mind (part of the soul) must go through multiple processes from language selection, word choice, tone, diction, muscle timing, etc. Furthermore, the bible tells us that where your treasure is, your HEART will be also [Ref 3]. Consider this, the very framework of who each person is as a free thinking, free willing, and free emoting creation of God Almighty (i.e. the heart) is firmly nestled in the “treasures” that we are given the opportunity to choose freely. The implications of this are both tremendous and terrible for this means that at any and every being with command of their faculties has the ability to change who they are to the very core at any given moment by simply placing his or her heart in a different treasure and/or placing a different director (either one’s own conscious, i.e. flesh, or the Holy Spirit which comes after salvation) in his or her heart. With this in mind, if God is not at the beginning of even the most simple of problems [Ref 4] there is some heart checking that needs to be done and growth that should continue to occur.
Mostly, man tends to highlight the times that he or she calls on the Lord when problems look like this:
y’ = (x3 +5x)((2)(2x)(sin x + 3x) + 2x2(cos x +3) – 2x2(sin x +3x)
(x3 + 5x)2
Or, in life situation translation, “You have cancer and will be dead in 3 – 8 months”
That’s when prayers are heard in the midnight hour; that’s when the end of every conversation is “God bless” and “keep me in prayer”; that’s when I believe people tend to get the most spiritual, when presented with a problem they can’t solve on their own. When jail and prison are inevitable; when the pink notice is on the door; when death stares you in the face and smiles with an ominous grin. Think on this:
Where do you place God on your personal “equation” map and what level of difficulty must arise before you place Him there?
If it’s not before the introduction of the first number or variable then go deeper, for remember that the heart is the framework and foundation of who your are as expressed in the world and before God Almighty. It is the very core of the soul, the place were symbols are assigned values as either a number or a variable or an operand. When analyzing the life of the ONLY perfect Man, Jesus, we see He built His walk only predicated on the instruction of the Father [Ref 5] and if we use that construct on our original example it will appear like this:
GOD
|
\ /
2x2 + 4 = 6 The bills are due next week, but there’s not enough money
PRAY TO GOD
2x2 = 2 I am led to pawn my t.v., but still don’t have enough
PRAY TO GOD
x2 = 1 I am led to sell my tablet, I think I got enough now
PRAY TO GOD
x = 1 I pay my bills
Notice that the steps that manifested in the real life application were kept basically the same. This was done on purpose as a lot of times when God is in the midst we expect ONLY the miraculous. However there is a problem with that expectation, for we as humans are incapable of fully conceptualizing the miraculous nature of God. Maybe the miracle was when you go to pawn the tv your smile and prayer for the attendant handling your sale keeps her from killing herself after her shift as she planned because she felt the Hope that you brought and shared in the pawn shop. Maybe the 30 minutes it took you to sell your tablet kept the other attendant just long enough to miss what would have been a fatal car accident for him/her. This is why it is absolutely impossible for us to BE perfect by ourselves, because perfection does not require us to always do what we believe to be right or good all the time, but rather that we know from the objective perspective the ramifications of each and every one of our actions on a universal level and how all those actions work together to affect each other and cause the unfolding of God’s will. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even know if I will be alive at the moment that you read this and wouldn’t dare guarantee it. How could I possibly know all that?
So, in conclusion, our daily labor should not be directed towards the trials, tasks and afflictions that we can see [Ref 6], but rather on keeping God here:
-------> GOD
|
\ /
2x2 + 4 = 6
For when we do that, we no longer fight our daily battles, but walk ordered steps of a currently 8 BILLION act play in a staged fight that has the best ending your favorite novel never had.
Ref 1: Romans 10:9
Ref 2: Luke 6:45
Ref 3: Matthew 6:21
Ref 4: Psalms 37:23; Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6; Proverbs 16:9
Ref 5: John 5:30
Ref 6: Psalms 34:19; Matthew 14:24-31; 2nd Corinthians 4:5-10;