“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 New International Version).
Let’s face it. If we don’t understand what’s happening – or if we don’t like what’s happening, we tend to question its legitimacy. We may think, “Can it possibly be right if I don’t understand it?”
Yet our Father God, in His infinite wisdom, tells us to trust Him with all our heart rather than leaning on our understanding.
Trust
The Hebrew word for “trust” in this passage means to “be confident or sure.” 1
Is Jehovah God worthy of our confidence?
He is completely Holy, righteous and good. He sent His one and only Son to rescue us, which required dying a cruel death on a cross, because we don’t follow His teachings that reflect righteousness and goodness. What a costly price it was to redeem us so we can live with Him forever . . . instead of suffering as we would have without His free gift of salvation.
Heart
We are to trust with our “inner man, mind, will,” 2 the meaning of the word “heart” in the original language. We make the choice to trust. It’s not just a feeling. It’s not just a one-time thought. It’s a decision.
We decide to be confident in the Lord with all our minds.
Lean
If we don’t trust God with all our hearts, the only other option is to lean (“support oneself” 3) on our own understanding.
We can trust the One who created us, loves us with an infinite love, who provides for us while we are living on earth, who will take us to be with Him when we leave this earth so we can be with Him forever . . .
Or we can try to support ourselves, leaning on our own understanding, which separates us from God and all His promises to us.
When we trust God and follow Him, He continues to bless us in ways that only He can.
Here is just one of the promises He makes to His children. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 New American Standard Bible).
Only God has the power to do this. You and I do not.
Even when we don’t understand what’s happening, we do not have the power to make things work together for good. Even when we don’t understand or agree with what’s happening, we can be confident that God will fulfill His promises, including the one in this passage.
Trusting God removes fear. Trusting in God and not in our own understanding frees us from the burden of coming to a conclusion as to why things happen the way they do.
Let’s boldly choose freedom over fear every day!
Resources
1Bible Hub. “Proverbs 3:5.” Strongs Exhaustive Concordance. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/982.htm
2Bible Hub. “Proverbs 3:5.” Strongs Concordance. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3820.htm
3Bible Hub. “Proverbs 3:5.” Strongs Concordance. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8172.htm
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