PROVERBS 28:26 – Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
THEME OF THE DAY. IS IT I, LORD? The theme in today’s nugget was asked of the Lord by the disciples at the Last Supper. Here is Matthew’s account of the scene – When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” (Matthew 26:20-22). A couple of observations from the disciples with their reply are good lessons for us in living out the Christian life.
First, we really don’t know the depths of our depravity and deceitfulness of our hearts. The prophet Jeremiah warns us, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9). We are told through scripture not to trust ourselves, rely on our own understanding, or operate independently when it comes to living and making decisions (Proverbs 3:5-6). And God’s Word goes further. Take a glance at today’s scripture again. What does the Lord call someone who trusts themselves? Not the most edifying of terms or one identifying spiritual maturity. He calls such a person “a fool”. We know many times Jesus’ disciples were not the wisest of individuals. Neither are we, but let’s give them some credit. They willingly confessed their own inability to know their hearts with the question “Is it I, Lord?”. Friends, negative spiritual consequences always result when we rely on our own understanding, think we are right in taking a course of action, and make decisions based on feelings and impressions without first and foremost searching the objective truth of scripture and seeking wise counsel from spiritually mature Christians. Guard against acting on anything but the Word and godly advice. Left to our own hearts, there will always be a force of bias working out of our remaining sin swaying us toward our sinful and selfish desires, even when we say, “I want the will of God”. The human heart is so deceitful that we may think we have right motives and intentions but subtly, our own selfish wills are creeping into actions and decisions and we don’t even recognize it.
Another lesson from these confessing disciples is extremely important for living out God’s design for His people. It wasn’t one of the disciples who said, “Is it I, Lord?”, but all them. Again listen to Matthew. He wrote, “And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?”. Notice what was absent – pride, looking down on another believer, placing oneself above another believer, a critical spirit, a privatized life unwilling to share and confess struggles out of fear of what others will think. The playing ground was equal with all of them. Oh, how the church of the Lord Jesus needs such a movement among Christians. We need to be honest and transparent. We need to invest in one another knowing none of us has this spiritual life figured out. Let’s stop being at a distance in our spiritual relationships. Let’s be like Jesus’ band of disciples with a displayed willingness to confess and entering into one another’s struggles. That is what defines the church alive! Is that what defines us?
The question the disciples asked of Jesus, “Is it I, Lord?”, does not rest with them alone. It is a question we should ask of Him all the time when it comes to living out all of the Christian life as revealed in God’s Holy Word.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I am quick to trust my own heart and understanding.”
QUOTE: “To trust oneself and to follow one’s heart inclinations are paths to spiritual disaster and consequences.”