3/9/25 Sermon

Life is strange. We tell ourselves that if we work hard, plan carefully, and push ourselves, everything will fall into place. But sometimes, no matter how much effort we put in, things still fall apart. When that happens, it’s easy to feel alone, to think we’re the only ones struggling, or that we must be doing something wrong. But failure is universal—it happens even to the greatest among us.

Take Abraham Lincoln. We remember him today as one of history’s greatest leaders, but his life was marked by repeated failure. His business failed in 1831, he lost an election in 1832, and another business collapsed in 1833. Tragedy struck when his fiancée died suddenly in 1835, leading to a nervous breakdown the following year. He lost another election in 1838, he lost another congressional race in 1843, and faced setbacks time and time again. Most people would have given up. Lincoln didn’t. He kept believing that if he just worked harder, if he just pushed further, if he just could rely on himself a little more, he’d become successful. But his strength alone wasn’t enough. Something had to change.

Then, Lincoln realized he couldn’t rely solely on himself.

And so he did three things differently: 1. he sought wise counsel, 2. embraced humility and faith, and 3. He trusted in God’s timing. Instead of making decisions alone, he surrounded himself with advisors, even former political rivals. He acknowledged his own limitations, often kneeling in prayer when he had nowhere else to go. And he learned to wait on God’s timing, understanding that moving too soon or too late could have disastrous consequences.

When he finally issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it was not out of desperation but from a position of strength.

Lincoln’s life reveals a powerful truth: when he relied only on himself, he failed repeatedly. When he sought wise counsel, embraced faith, and trusted in God’s providence, he became one of history’s greatest leaders.

This shift—from self-reliance to trust—is what Proverbs 3:5-6 is all about:

"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."

But how do we actually trust in God’s will? It’s easy to say, “Just trust God,” but how do we know we’re hearing Him correctly? Trusting God isn’t passive; it’s an active process of listening, seeking, and discerning. As Presbyterians, we take this seriously because we believe that God’s will isn’t a mystery—it’s something we can discern if we seek it rightly. And how do we, as Presbyterians believe we can discern the will of God?

1.  We Start with Scripture

We look to see where God’s been and what God’s done in the past.  We look to see what our ancestors in the faith thought about God and what God does.  Lincoln turned to prayer and Scripture for wisdom, recognizing that guidance begins with God’s revealed truth. Matthew 6:33 reminds us, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." If we want to know God’s will, we need to be deeply rooted in God’s Word.

2.  We Pray and Listen for the Holy Spirit

Trusting in God  means actually talking to God — not just with a list of demands, but asking for wisdom and then being quiet enough to listen. Lincoln understood this, often kneeling in prayer because he had nowhere else to turn. He once said:
"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”

And as Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-32, "Do not worry... for your heavenly Father knows that you need them." Prayer is a conversation, not a monologue. We need to take time to listen.

3. Seek Wise Counsel

Many struggle with this because we like to believe we can figure things out ourselves. But God never intended for us to walk this journey alone. Lincoln learned that wisdom comes from listening to different perspectives, even those he disagreed with. When we face a big decision, we should seek out wise, faithful people who will help us discern what’s right. If we’re only listening to our own voice, we’re likely leaning on our own understanding instead of seeking God’s wisdom.

4. We Use the Mind God Gave You

Faith and reason work together. God gave us things like  wisdom, logic, and experience, and we should use them. We don’t just wait for a sign in the sky; we think through things wisely while trusting that God is guiding us. Trusting God is not an excuse for inaction—it’s an invitation to align our decision-making with God’s truth and wisdom.

5. We  Pay Attention to Providence - or another way of putting it is that we look for Open & Closed Doors

Sometimes, God clearly opens a door. Other times, God shuts one. Lincoln wanted to end slavery early, but the political climate wasn’t ready. He had to wait for the right time. In our own lives, when a door won’t open no matter how hard we push, maybe that’s God telling us it’s not the right time. That doesn’t mean we do nothing—it means we stay faithful and trust that God is leading the way.

But what happens when we don’t trust God? We carry everything ourselves. Imagine preparing for a long mountain hike, packing everything you think you might need—extra clothes, food, a first-aid kit, tools, a map, even something to read at night. By the time you sling the backpack over your shoulders, it’s heavy, but you convince yourself you need it all. The first few miles are fine, but as the path climbs upward, the weight presses down harder. Your shoulders ache, your legs burn, and you start needing to take more breaks. But you keep pushing, telling yourself you can’t rely on anyone else.

Then, you meet another hiker, moving with ease, carrying a much smaller and lighter pack. She asks why you’re carrying so much, and you explain that you want to be prepared for whatever the path ahead holds for you. She smiles and tells you she used to think the same thing but she found that up ahead, there’s a guide station that provides for hikers—food, water, shelter. Everything you’ll need. You hesitate because it’s hard to believe. What if they don’t have what you need? She reassures you, “They always do.”

You stand there, shifting under the crushing weight of your pack. You could keep struggling alone, or you could trust. And so finally, desperate for relief, you begin letting go — unpacking things you never needed to carry.  And When you arrive at the station, you’re amazed at the provisions that had been prepared in advance. And in that moment, you realize something painful but freeing: you wasted so much energy carrying things you never needed.

Lincoln had to learn this lesson too. He spent years believing that he had to carry everything himself. He worked himself to exhaustion, trying to force his way into success. But it wasn’t until he sought wise counsel, embraced faith, and trusted in God’s timing that his path became clear.

And the same is true for us. If we keep trying to carry everything ourselves, we’re going to break under the weight of it. But when we surrender our need for control and trust in God, the weight lifts off our shoulders.

That’s the wisdom of 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."

We let go of the pack.
We trust that help is ahead.
And we walk forward, lighter and freer than before.

Maybe this all sounds great in theory, but the question is: How do we actually do this? How do we let go of our burdens and trust God?

Let me give you four simple shifts thatI think can help:

1. We Shift our Focus and Stop Fixating on the “What Ifs”

In Matthew 6, Jesus said: “So don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

What is He saying? He’s saying to stop obsessing over what you don’t know.

Anxiety grows when we focus on what we lack.

Trust grows when we focus on God’s faithfulness.

The hiker in the story was so worried that the guide station wouldn’t have what they needed that they burdened themself with extra supplies.

We do the same thing.

We hoard control because we’re afraid God won’t provide.
We micromanage everything because we don’t believe God’s actually leading us.

But what did Jesus say?
"Your heavenly Father knows that you need them."

Instead of stressing over the unknown, we need to shift our focus to the One who already knows our needs.

2. We replace Control with Surrender

Proverbs 3:6 tells us ”In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Trusting God doesn’t mean doing nothing.

Trusting God means letting go of the illusion that we have to figure everything out alone.

We can ask ourselves : Where in our lives are we gripping too tightly?

• Are we holding onto a relationship we know God is asking us to release?

• Are we clinging to control over our future because we don’t trust God’s timing?

• Are we carrying burdens of stress and perfectionism because we believe we have to hold everything together?

Jesus is saying: “Put down the pack. Let me carry what you can’t.”

3. We Seek God First, Not Security

Jesus says "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

We spend so much time chasing security, comfort, and control, thinking they will bring peace.

But peace isn’t found in certainty. Peace is found in God. Jesus says, “Seek first His kingdom.” Not your job security. Not your retirement plan. Not your perfect five-year plan. God is saying: If you seek Me first, I will take care of everything else.

4. WE Live in Today, Not Tomorrow

Jesu goes on to say "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Some of us are so obsessed with the future that we are missing today.

• We worry about retirement while missing the joy of our kids growing up.

• We stress about the next five years while ignoring the ways God is already providing today.

• We fixate on worst-case scenarios instead of trusting that God is already ahead of us.

Jesus is saying:
“Live in today’s grace, not tomorrow’s fear.”

We discern God’s will not by guessing but by seeking Scripture, prayer, wise counsel, and providence.

And When we don’t trust, we end up carrying unnecessary burdens—just like the hiker who refused to trust the guide station.

Overcoming self-reliance means shifting our focus, surrendering control, seeking God first, and living in today’s grace.

Let me ask you:

• What unnecessary burdens are you carrying right now?

• Where are you gripping too tightly because you don’t trust God to provide?

• What would it look like to actually put your full weight on the promises of God instead of your own strength?

Because the journey is long. But God’s provision is already ahead.

It’s time to put down the pack.
It’s time to trust that what we need will be there when we need it.
It’s time to walk forward, lighter, freer, and with peace.

Because God always provides.

"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."

Amen.