Do it Yourself, or Trust in the Lord? Proverbs 21:31

Do it Yourself, or Trust the Lord?

The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the LORD. ~Proverbs 21:31 (NKJV)

Should you accept responsibility for your life and work hard? Should you “prepare the horse for battle”?

Yes.

Should you remember the Sovereignty of the Almighty, that we are to walk by faith and not by sight, and that all blessing comes from His hand? Should we relax and trust the Lord?

Yes.

These two mindsets are not mutually exclusive, but are two sides of the same coin.

Do both.

Do not say, “I have faith that the Lord will take care of me, so there is no reason for me to do anything but wait on the Lord.”

He does not bless laziness, irresponsibility, inaction, and presumption. Even faith without works is dead. (James 2:17)

Remember that to “wait on the Lord” doesn’t mean to wait idly like you are waiting for a bus; it means to wait actively like you are waiting on tables. Servants work; they don’t just sit around.

Neither say, “I will handle this; I will win this battle. The Lord helps those who help themselves.”

He doesn’t bless willfulness or independence, and He won’t accept second in command.

Find the balance. Pray and trust like everything depends on God, and work like everything depends on you.

This is the marriage of faith and works: faith spurs us to work, we work in faith, and our works prove our faith.

Now it is probable that your enemy will prepare his horse for battle against you and will have prayed to his gods, so don’t show up for a warhorse battle as a foot soldier.

And don’t forget your shield of faith.

Remember the preceding verse, “There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the Lord.”

Your job is to fight as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

So remember that the point is to build your close partnership with God. There is much in Proverbs about part of the issues of life coming from man, and part coming from God. (Plans and ways, thoughts and steps, heart and tongue, etc.)

So in the Heroes of the Faith chapter of Hebrews 11, God’s Word says repeatedly “by faith” they DID something, took action, got busy.

This is also akin to the commonly quoted axiom, “when preparation meets opportunity the result is success”.

So you must prepare, work hard, get your skills up, and be ready and active. Then the God-given opportunity will present itself and you can make the most of it. God gets the glory and you get the victory.

Look at this also from His perspective. If God has something important to be done, some victory to be won, He always seeks out one of His people to work in partnership with Him.

Now if you were God in search of a trustworthy partner and servant, would you choose someone who is just sitting around waiting for good things to work themselves out, or would you choose someone who is busy, active, prepared, skilled, and open to the Voice of the Lord?

“God has some great purpose for me in my life” we say, and it is true. But it isn’t yours for the idle waiting; it’s yours for the accomplishing by faith and action.

Get busy and watch for God to open doors and grant success as you move forward.

Are you ready?

YES!

Then prepare your horse, and trust your Lord.

POINT: Faith is no substitute for work, nor vice versa. Both are required.

PRINCIPLES: Work ethic; Faith; Reaping and Sowing; Skill development; Team; Planning; Warrior