Perfect means that there are no flaws, no imperfections, nor anything that needs to be changed or altered. Psalm 18:30 is a verse that has three realities. Right now, in our present time, we can stand assured that God’s way is perfect, His word will stand, and He will be our Shield.

It says, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” His way is higher than ours. Therefore, in order for His way to become our way, He brings it higher. Psalm 18:32 says, “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.” How does He do it? He conforms our thoughts to His righteous thoughts through His word.

He uses the pressures of our trials, hardships, adversity, and the impossibilities that we face. Like in wheel pottery, the potter has to apply pressure to center the clay before it can be formed. The Lord perfects our way by bringing course correction or discipline. Unrighteous thoughts lead to unrighteous actions. Hebrews 12:11 Amplified says, “For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards…”

It is the ‘afterwards’ that the Lord is working to achieve in us through character transformation. The verse goes on, “…it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness–in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action…” Isaiah 32:17 is one of the ‘afterwards’ which says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

I want you to picture the word ‘work’ as the potter centering his piece as you read this verse. Psalm 138:8 says, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the work of Your hands.”

Since the Lord’s way is higher than ours, how do we raise ours? Isaiah 40:3 says, “…Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” When we do this, verse 4 becomes our reality. It says, “Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth.”

Hebrews 12:12-13 says, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”

We can apply the above four verses in a spiritual sense. Our way is INdependent of God. Our way is total flesh. Therefore His way is to be absolutely and unequivocally dependent on Him. Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Joel 1:2 it sounds like our present. “Hear this, you elders, and give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?” Think about the fraudulent election and the corruption that was disclosed. Think about the years that the locust have eaten in your life through inner defilement (hidden sin).

Though Joel’s prophecy was written for others, we can apply it right now. Joel 2:12-14 says, “Now, therefore, says the Lord, Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So REND your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him…”

Psalm 51:17 were David’s words after his hidden was exposed. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart–these, O God, You will not despise.”

God’s last words through Hosea asked two questions. Hosea 14:9 says, “Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them…” What are the answers that pertain to us? The verse concludes, “…For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.”

God’s word speaks to everyone and every situation. As I thought about the verse several other verses came to mind. Let me share them with you. These are verses that held me together when I was caring for my dad in his ‘fierce independent’ dementia days.

Genesis 18:25 says, “…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 2 Samuel 10:9 says, “When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind…” He was hemmed in through his circumstances. Verse 10 says, “…And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

God’s ways are always right. Regardless of our circumstances, we can depend on Him absolutely and totally. Isaiah 55:9 says that His ways are higher than our ways.

I like to think about Psalm 103:7 which says, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” Here are David’s words. Psalm 145:17 says, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works.”

I want to know His ways. Psalm 25:4 is a frequent prayer of mine. It says, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.” Psalm 5:8 is another prayer. It says, “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face.”

I remember a childhood song: My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow. Let’s let the words ‘The ways of the Lord are right’ reverberate in our hearts. We may not understand right now, but we can trust that the True Judge of all the earth will do right.

Hosea 10:12-13 are two verses that expose a significant root. “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way…”

How do we know if we are eating the fruit of lies that we have believed? The fruit are our words. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Our words reveal what our heart feeds on. Listen to what you are saying. It will disclose what your heart truly believes. The lies that we have believed control our lives because they have infiltrated our thought processes.

Every sin is first a thought. Remember Ananias and Sapphira? Acts 5:3 says, “..why has Satan filled your heart to lie…” Verse 4 says, “…Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Matthew 15:19 says, “For out of your heart proceed evil thoughts…” Matthew 12:34 says, “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Let’s go back to Hosea 10:13. The root to the fruit of their lies was because they trusted in their own way. Our flesh-way opposes what the Holy Spirit desires to do through inner transformation. Proverbs 21:22 Amplified says, “A wise man scales the city walls of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.” Anything or anyone that we put our trust in is futile. Only the Lord knows what lies ahead for us in the next moment, days, months, years.

Clinging to the Lord in trust reveals roots that are nourished through the soil of God’s word. His word that we hide in our heart is like a sentinel that warns, monitors, and controls our thoughts. What we speak comes out of that deep reservoir of eternal truth that can’t be shaken.

John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Our first ‘knowing’ is through salvation.

We begin our journey to know the Lord through His word. Since we are created in the image of God, we have a heart-capacity to commune with Him. John 15:1-8 calls it abiding. The Amplified uses words like being vitally united.

I love John 15:8 which says, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” Fruit is borne through abiding.

As we read God’s word and begin to walk in it, our knowledge of the Holy One increases. We go from print on a page to experiential knowledge. Let me describe that through Proverbs 3:6. It says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

The Hebrew word for acknowledge is ‘yada’ which means to know by observation, investigation, reflection, or firsthand experience. ‘Yada’ in its highest sense means life-giving intimacy. That aptly describes the power of abiding which yields experiential knowledge. John 8:31-32 says, “…If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

When we bring His truth into our heart it will become part of our thought processes. It is living heart-truth that brings inner transformation. It aligns our thoughts with His. It is the truth we know experientially that sets us free from the entanglement of sin.

2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the KNOWLEDGE of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Hosea 6:3 says, “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord…”

How do we pursue knowledge? I love Proverbs 10:9 which says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

A. W. Tozer wrote “Knowledge Of The Holy” and “Pursuit Of God.” Both are excellent. I would encourage you to read them to strengthen and help your walk with the Lord.

The words in Proverbs 2:1-4 set us up for the ‘then’ in verse 5. I will encapsulate the process of pursuit: treasure His commands, incline your ear to wisdom, apply your heart to understanding, cry out for discernment, lift up your voice for understanding, seek and search.

Verse 5 says, “THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” Is it worth the pursuit? I answer with a resounding ‘yes’ because the deeper the root the sweeter the fruit. It is all about intimacy with Him.

Proverbs 10:4 says that wise people store up knowledge. Hosea 6:6 described the Lord’s desire. It says, “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

The Lord takes no pleasure in outward religious rituals. He is looking for heart involvement that pursues Him above all else. Experiential knowledge comes through intimate communion as He reveals Himself to us. John 14:21 says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Pursuing Him is a heart demonstration of our love.

Ephesians 3:19 Amplified says, “(That you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself)!”

I finished Isaiah and am now heading through the minor prophets. As Hosea began, the Lord told him to marry a harlot. Each of her children were given names that reflected the spiritual condition of Israel.

Hosea 2:6 says, “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and wall her in, so that she cannot find her paths.” FYI: this is a great verse to pray for someone who has strayed from the Lord.

Verses 14-15 give us a precious insight into God’s purpose for our wilderness of trials, hardships, and adversity. Verse 14 says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.” The Amplified says to speak to her heart.

Verse 15 says, “I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there…”

Spiritual harlotry is the turning aside to heart-idols. The Lord is a jealous God. Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” David’s prayer is a great one to adopt for ourselves. Psalm 86:11-12 says, “…unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with ALL my heart…”

David’s words expressed his desire to be wholehearted and single minded in his devotion to the Lord. I remember the song: Give me an undivided heart, that I might fear Your name.

The Lord uses our wilderness to draw us closer to Him. He reveals His heart through intimate communion. He manifests Himself in ways that we could not experience in any other way.

My book: He Drew Me Out Of Deep Waters: encouragement for hard trials is on Amazon in paperback and ebook. It is a testimony of the Lord’s miraculous interventions in my life. He has given me rich insights I would not have gained except in this wilderness-trial.

When we presume something, we are not taking into full account what we don’t know. Presumptuous sin is first a thought. We have the choice to continue processing the thought or stoping it. Always it is a choice to sin or not.

This is brought home to me every time I read the account of Simon. Acts 8:20 says, “…you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!” Verse 22 gives us direction when we have an enemy-thought. It says, “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.”

We have an OT example through Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 4 is the narrative. Nebuchadnezzar had two dreams that Daniel interpreted. In verse 27 said, “…break off your sins by being righteous…” However in verse 30 the king verbalized his thoughts. He was glorying in his own accomplishments. Verse 31 says that while the words were still in his mouth, the Lord told him that his kingdom was over. God then humiliated him UNTIL. Verse 32 says that he would know the Most High rules.

Unrighteous thoughts exalt us, whereas righteous thoughts exalt the Lord. It is prudent for us to humble ourselves before Him, rather than Him having to humble us.

Presumptuous thoughts are inflated with pride. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says to cast them down because they are against the knowledge of God. Take up the sword of the Spirit and pierce your pride-thought. Deflate it by bringing your thoughts into alignment with God’s thoughts. John 15:5 is a great one. “…without Me you can do nothing.”

I want to share an insight the Holy Spirit gave me yesterday that I had not considered before. In Numbers 13 Moses sent 12 leaders to spy out the land of Canaan. Two had a good report, but ten had a bad report. Listen to what they presumed. Verse 33 says about the giants in the land, “…we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” They presumed to know what the giants were thinking. They were spies and likely the giants never saw them.

We never know what another is thinking unless they tell us. They jumped to conclusions. Based on what they assumed, they led the insurrection. Numbers 14:4 says, “…Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” The ten spies set their own death sentence. Verse 32 says, “But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.”

In verse 42 Moses said, “Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you.” In verse 44 it says, “But they presumed…” Presumption acts independent of God. Their pride was cloaked in an act of humility. They acknowledged their sin (humility) but did their own thing (pride).

David wrote Psalm 19. Did he speak from experience? Yes! Verse 13 is one of my daily prayers, “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me…”

Numbers 15:30 says, “But the person who does anything presumptuously…that one brings reproach on the Lord…” The Amplified uses the words, “…do anything (wrong) willfully and openly…” Reproach means to revile or blaspheme.

Presumption is acting as if we know better than God. It is flesh. Humility acknowledges absolute dependence on God. It is a willingness to wait until He shows us His way through whatever situation we face. Let us purpose in our heart, like Daniel did, to honor Him in all our thoughts and actions.

Isaiah 64:4 says that God acts for those who wait for Him. We can fully trust Him to work through every detour or delay in our lives. His timing is impeccable. He is never late nor early. He is always at work masterfully orchestrating every detail.

Waiting is a trial, but it is an essential time in God’s purpose for our lives. He uses our waiting time to expose the hidden that would sabotage the work He wants to do in and through us. We saw that played out in Saul. Samuel had told him to wait for him, however Saul took matters into his own hands and lost his kingdom. God’s purpose that He was using Saul to fulfill was then given to David.

I love Ephesians 1:11 which says, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works ALL things according to the counsel of His will.”

David wrote Psalm 27. Verse 14 says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Isaiah 40:31 says that as we wait on Him, He renews our strength. What weakens faith? Here are some weights: complaining, worry, negativity, disobedience, impatience, lack of diligence, alertness, and not feeding on His word daily are a few.

What occupies your mind as you wait? The motive behind our thoughts reveals the hidden dross. If we turn to complaining then our focus is on our circumstances. If we give in to worry, then our thoughts are focused on our inability. When we engage in a negative dialogue, we are looking for who or what we can blame.

Waiting is God’s strategic maneuver to expose the hidden that satan has planted through fiery dart-lies. They are blind spots that must be removed so we can go forward. Waiting is our time to renew our hearts through God’s truth that will ground us no matter what impossibility we face. Our confidence is to be in Him not in another nor any one thing. Hebrews 10:35 says, “Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.”