Daily Bible Verse - Proverbs 3: 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight.

                          - Proverbs 3: 5-6 

This verse hits home every time adversity presents itself in one's life. So many people (including myself to a point) claim to believe in God, however the part that gets glossed over and holds back true belief and understanding is the "in all your ways submit to Him." God's love is genuine and powerful, so why would it be fair to half-heartedly trust and love Him? Without truly loving Him and submitting one can not be saved.

Trusting in the Lord is relatively simple; know that he is always looking over you and guiding you through life. The next part is where much of the inner struggle occurs; "with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" First of all, we should not expect to fully understand God's intentions and/or actions. They are his own and do not require explanation. 

While we may not understand mentally the how or why, in our hearts, trust and faith serve to fill the void left by things that our simple minds can not grasp. As bad as things may get and no matter how many times society tells us one thing will happen, He has another plan; this is what it boils down to. Truly trusting in God and his plan even when evil (in this example society) presents itself and makes it seem as if there is no hope and your path is hopeless.

True love was touched upon in another post, and it again, fits here. Truly open your heart and soul to Him and allow Him to guide you without resistance "and he will make your paths straight."

Daily Bible Verse - 1 John 4:12

No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

                                                            -1 John 4:12

This verse hits home and is a big part of why sometimes people (including myself) struggle with their belief. In this world we are taught from an early age to trust those we know and err on the side of caution when things we don't understand come around. After all, without being able to see or feel something, how can we trust that whatever it is is, in fact, real? This directly relates to spirituality and belief in God.

I ran across another quote today and strangely enough it fits perfectly into this topic of discussion:

Why do we close our eyes when we pray, cry, kiss or dream? Because the most beautiful things in life are not seen, but felt by the heart.

Is God not the most beautiful thing one can feel but not see? Since "no man hath seen God at any time" then faith is indeed blind and belief in Him is something that stems from feelings. Often times I asked God to make himself known and to speak to me, this of course has yet to happen and most likely will not happen until our day of judgement. It is through faith in His word that we grow closer to Him and become true believers.

The second part states that "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us." Outpouring of love to others is a sign of His work in us, however it is not enough to simply "be nice" to people and thus be truly saved and "of God." In the same breath it is not simply enough to believe in God and expect salvation.  One must truly obey God if they truly wish to be righteous and saved.

Both obedience (following) and love (God's tangible influence through one's actions) go hand in hand. If there is love and no obedience, then there is no true love, which in this case is referring to the perfection of God's love through belief in Christ.

To truly experience perfect love, one must maintain obedience to God's word and this is accomplished by steadfast trust that what we can not see is real.