Improving Your Serve
-Find God’s Plan for Your Life-
Proverbs 3:5-6
Playing tennis has a lot in common with finding God’s plan for your life.
I first started playing tennis in High School. I enjoyed getting out and hitting the ball as hard as I could with a wood racquet. I would try spinning the ball and doing fancy serves. The ball ended up going into the net and over the fence.
The summer of my first year of High School I took tennis lessons. I learned that there are fundamentals of tennis you need to learn before hitting the ball with all your might. There is a way to hold the racquet for fore hand and backhand. There is a proper way to stand to serve. My tennis coach told us to practice serving. Throw the ball up just above your left shoulder if you are right handed.
After learning the fundaments of tennis I started to play better.
There are fundamental principles God has given to help you prepare for a meaningful life. God has promised to guide you and help you find His plan for your life. Proverbs 3:5-6 give two fundament principles that are pre-requisites to finding God’s will for your life.
I. Trust the Lord (Proverbs 3:5)
The writer of Proverbs says, “ Trust the Lord with all your heart.” One translation of Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust God from the bottom of you heart.” The Bible promises that you will find God when you seek the Lord with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
God wants you to have abundant life and live a life of victory. The Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet when He said: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to give you hope and a future.”
God is trustworthy.
Have you seen the commercial that begins with a young girl standing alone in a picturesque meadow? The camera then pans to another part of the field where it shows a gigantic African rhinoceros. The ominous beast begins a lethal charge towards the girl, whose serene and happy face remains unmoved. As the rhinoceros gets closer, the words appear on the screen, "Trust is not being afraid." A split second before the rhino tramples the helpless child, it stops, and the girl, her smile never wavering, reaches up and pets the animal on its massive horn. The final words then appear, "even when you are vulnerable."
The commercial was designed to promote the abilities of an insurance company to protect its clients from the uncertainties of life. How much more does it describe the person who trusts in the Lord! The person who trust in the Lord can confidently say with the psalmist, "I will say of the Lord, ’He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’"
Human nature tends to doubt and not trust God. Many of us by nature are skeptical. Some of you don’t trust computers or gadgets. You check the adding machine receipts to make sure it added right.
There was a man who lived on Long Island. He was able one day to satisfy a lifelong ambition by purchasing for himself a very fine barometer. When the instrument arrived at his home, he was extremely disappointed to find that the indicating needle appeared to be stuck, pointing to the sector marked "HURRICANE." After shaking the barometer very vigorously several times, its new owner sat down and wrote a scorching letter to the store from which he had purchased the instrument. The following morning on the way to his office in New York, he mailed the letter. That evening he returned to Long Island to find not only the barometer missing, but his house also. The barometer’s needle had been right--there was a hurricane!
Tourist at the Grand Canyon: Man visited the Grand Canyon and while he was looking over the side he slipped, as he fell he caught a scrub bush and held on for dear life,
Dialogue
Man - “Is there anybody up there?”
Voice speaks: “Yes, there is”
Man - “Can you help me? Can you help me?”
Voice - “Yes, I can most likely be of assistance. What is your problem?”
Man - I slipped and fell off of the cliff and I am dangling by this bush”
Voice - I’ll do my best. Do you believe?”
Man - “Yes, I believe!”
Voice - Do you have faith?
Man - Yes I have faith
Voice - Do you trust me?
Man - Yes I trust you!
Voice - Let go of the branch and everything will turn out fine
Man - Is there anybody else up there?
Two examples from the Old Testament come to mind of two men that trusted God in times of testing and trial.
Abraham trusted God in a time of severe testing of his faith. (Genesis 22) God called to Abraham and said: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.
Abraham was obedient and loaded a donkey with wood for the sacrifice, put a knife in his pocket, and took his son and two servants to the Mountain of Moriah. He told his servants to wait while he and his son, Isaac went to worship the Lord.
Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac to carry and Abraham carried the knife and fire. Isaac asked his father, “Father, the fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.”
Abraham had faith in God. Abraham trusted God. God had promised that he would bless his family and give him a great heritage through his only son Isaac. He believed God would provide. Abraham was about to slay his son when an angel of the Lord called out: “Abraham, Abraham, do not lay a hand on the boy. I now know that you fear God.” Abraham looked up and there was a ram caught in thicket of brush. Abraham used the ram for the sacrifice.
Abraham trusted God and God provided. In your darkest hours God is near and will provide.
There is a older song that goes: “There’s a light at the end of the darkness so look up when you are down and try to believe. Sometimes we have to be knocked down to make us look upward. I was looking up from the bottom when it finally shined on me.”
Jesus called all who would follow Him to take up their cross daily and follow Him. Following Jesus does not mean you will be free from a life of pain and heartache. It does mean that Jesus is with you in every situation. When the bottom falls out you can trust the Lord.
Job learned to trust God when he did not have any answer for the “Whys” of life. Job was a righteous and upright man. He was wealthy and prospered under the blessings of God. Satan tempted Job to reject his faith and trust in God. Job suffered the loss of his servants, the loss of his sheep, his camels, by the hands of raiding parties. His children were all killed in a tornado.
When Job heard the news he fell to the ground and worshiped the Lord. He said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job. 1:13-22)
Job then came down with intense suffering and pain from boils from his head to the soles of his feet. His wife said to him: “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die.” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?”
Job trusted God. Job could say, “Whatever happens I will trust God.” God blessed Job for his faithfulness and in the end restored his wealth greater than before and gave his seven sons and three daughters and Job lived to be 140 years old.
The first pre-requisite to knowing God’s plan is to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”
II. Do Not Trust Your own Wisdom. “Lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5b)
God has given each of you the privilege of either choosing to trust the Lord for wisdom or trust your own wisdom. If you are to know and experience God’s Plan for your life you need to turn to God for guidance and not your own. James 1:5 give the promise: “Don’t try to figure things out on your own. Listen to God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go.” (Message)
Jesus taught his disciples to pray in the “Lord’s Prayer:” “May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:16) What is God’s will in heaven?
God’s will is for you to put Him first. His will is for you to give Him adoration and praise. His will is for peace on earth. His will is to have no suffering. In heaven there will be no more war, no more pain, no more injustices. There will be joy in heaven not know in this world. In haven Jesus will receive all the honor and glory.
The life God means for you to live as a Christian is radically different from the common experiences in this world. This world sells the self-centered life. The prevailing message of this world is like a repeating circle: “Me, Me, Me.” To that end the world encourages and tries to motivate you to do, do, do, buy, buy buy! BE all that you can be. Make sure you take care of “me, myself and I.”
The life presented in the New Testament is in sharp contrast to the headlines we hear on commercials. In Philippians 4:6-9 the Apostle Paul emphases a quality of life that flows from having a personal relationship with Jesus.
God’s will is to move you from self-centeredness to Christ centeredness. It is God’s will to give you His love and salvation. 2 Peter 3:9, “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance.” The Lord Jesus stands before you with open arms and says: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 Message)
What is it that keeps us from surrendering to Jesus? There are many enemies.
Fear is one enemy. There is fear that God will not really do what He says He will do. So why surrender to God. He will not take care of me.
The truth is that God is our creator and gives us our breath, heartbeat and life. God alone is our refuge. Deuteronomy 33:27: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, ‘destroy.’”
Another enemy is pride. We say, “I want to change.” We want to be good, but later not now. We know best what we need right now. There are some things we want to do before we are willing to give ourselves to doing only what God wants us to do.
If you “trust in the Lord with all your heart” and if “you do not lean on your own understanding.” Then:
III. God will Guide Your Life. He will make your paths straight.
When you trust in the Lord and turn to Him for guidance, then God is the one who will keep your life on track.
As you walk along life’s pathway God will clear the road ahead of you. God will help you remove the obstacles in the road as you move forward.
Isaiah 40:29-31: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles: they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
God will direct your life. God has you best interests in mind.
As our four children were growing up Carollyn and I had their best interests in mind. We did all we could to care and nurture them. We did our best to show our love. As children they were dependent on us. Then they became teen-agers. We quickly learned that we couldn’t control teenagers anymore than we could train our housecat. As teenagers they continue to be somewhat dependent. We continued to love them and at times sacrifice our desires and needs for theirs.
Now as adults our children are more independent. We continue to love them and do all we can to encourage them and their children. Their life out of our home is now lived on a different level.
In every stage of your life – God has your best interests in mind. God continues to love you. God wants you to live the life that He created you to live.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
Joni Eareckson became paralyzed from the neck down from a diving accident. In her book, Joni, she writes: “I withdrew into myself and the solitude of home. After being away so long, I appreciated the old house with all its pleasant memories. Yet for some reason, I couldn’t really feel at home there anymore; I felt awkward in my own home….
“What’s the matter, honey?” Dad finally asked…. “I sighed deeply, then said, “I guess the thing that affect me most is that I’m so helpless. I look round the house here, and everywhere I look I see the things you’ve built and created. It’s really said to think that I can’t leave a legacy like you”…..
“Dad wrinkled his forehead for a moment, then grinned again.” “You’ve god it all wrong. These things I’ve done with my hands don’t mean anything. It’s more important that you build character. Leave something of yourself behind. You see? You don’t build character with your hands….Maybe we’ll never know the why of troubles, Joni. Look—I’m not a minister or a writer – I don’t know exactly how to describe what’s happening to us. But, Joni, I have to believe God knows what He’s doing.” God has a purpose for every life, including yours.
---- As the years have passed Joni has written books, done paintings with her mouth holding a brush, and spoken at many national rallies.
Your part is to trust God and turn to Him for guidance. God’s part is to direct your life and guide your life. As you put your trust in the Lord, give Him your hand. He will take your hand and walk with you step by step. When you are walking with the Lord whatever happens to you does matter to Him.
