Doing It Myself, Trusting in the Lord… or Both?

March 1st, 2023

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes” (Proverbs 3: 5-7).

I am a “make it happen” kind of guy. Like many other men, I was trained at a young age that if I wanted something, I needed to go get it. That journey began as a kid when I started my first lawn mowing business. I learned quickly that if I wanted things, it was up to me to go get them - and I had the power to make that happen. Align that with an inner desire to build, create, and hunt, and it was easy to slide into an “I’ll do this all myself” mindset.

That mindset stuck with me. In my career, leadership, and running a business, it followed me. Years later, I am still that 12-year-old boy with a lawn mower on a mission to make things happen.

Sound familiar?

Proverbs 3 challenges that thinking. We are warned not to be wise in our own eyes or to lean on our own understanding. Instead, it reminds us that we need to trust in the Lord, not our own abilities, and that God alone will direct our paths. Proverbs 16:9 shares a similar message.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”

What does this mean for us? The Word clearly tells us to trust the Lord, lean into Him, and allow Him to establish our steps. None of those include a “now, go make things happen” directive. Hearing this, it would be easy to take a step back and become passive, but go back to those two verses we shared above…

“He shall direct your paths.”

“ The Lord establishes their steps.”

Clearly, in both cases, we are called to move. These verses tell the story of a man on a path, not sitting still but moving. We are called to take our steps and do our part to make things happen while God does his. It’s a collaborative partnership of epic proportions. God does his part, and we do ours. He makes things happen on His side, and we make things happen on ours – working together.

So, yes. As men, we’re called to make things happen. There is work to be done, and God expects us to participate actively in that work. At the same time, we are called to trust God with the results, the direction, and where our work takes us. We’re reminded that as much as we know the course and where the journey is leading, God may take us in a different direction. Wherever that is, we need to trust Him to lead our lives, provide for our needs, and make things happen for us. Do your part… and let God do His.