The Wrong Way Round
by Annalene Holtzhausen
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:6, NKJV
The expression that ‘you shouldn’t put the cart before the horse’ is an idiom suggesting that one may be doing things in the wrong order. It also implies the importance of beginning at the right place.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a place of confusion and frustration. In the struggle, we turn to the Lord and pray about it, asking Him for direction or for things to work out the best way. Uncertainty and waiting becomes consuming. The way forward seems unclear and this often leads to us striving, by trying to work things out in our own way. We eventually don’t leave much room for the Lord to help us, especially when fear and panic set in.
When this happens to us, it may be good to stop and ask ourselves whether we knew the Lord was in the initial decision we made to embark upon this particular course of action. Sometimes, in our haste and enthusiasm, we forget to include the Lord in our decisions and plans. We just jump in and it may work out well for us, but other times things seem to turn upside down.
In 1 Corinthians 14:33a we read’, ‘For God is not a God of disorder but of peace’ (NLT). The Lord is not the author of our confusion, but He can definitely show us the way out of the confusion. When we find ourselves in this place of confusion and striving, or even fear, the best way to move forward is to turn our eyes unto the Lord: ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalms 46:10a). In the midst of our confusion, we can stop for a moment and look to Him for help. ‘In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths’ (Proverbs 3:6).
Sometimes we may need to even face our own pridefulness, and admit that our decisions weren’t in line with God’s will. But the Lord is faithful, and will direct and guide us forward. The Lord will never turn us away. As we read in Psalm 51:17b, ‘a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise’. Things may not always work out as we had wished or envisioned, but He will lead us into His perfect will for our life.
If this is relevant for your situation today, you may like to pray the following prayer.
Annalene Holtzhausen is on the Associate Team at Ellel, Africa. She is married to Renier, who introduced her to Ellel Ministries. She is a full-time mother to their two boys. Her passion is for the restoration of women’s hearts and for people to find their worth in the Lord.
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