“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Such bedrock verses. There is so much that is jam packed into these sentences.
Trust in the Lord – Most all of us have serious trust issues. Of course this is understandable – Adam and Eve had trust issues when they had no reason to. Our trust issues are generally the result of one of two things: 1) Other people have taught us how “not to trust” by disappointing and deceiving us, and 2) we have chosen to trust in things that are not trustworthy – such as money, success, popularity, people, and other such 21st century idols. Our trust is to be in none of these things but in the Lord.
Do not lean... – We are leaners. We are going to lean on something. The problem with leaning on our own understanding is that our own understanding is more often than not misguided. It is misguided by faulty information, by deceived emotions, and by wrong advice (though well-intentioned) from other people. We must learn to lean on God (a good definition of trust) because He is the only One that can provide lasting and indelible support.
In all you ways acknowledge Him – The key word here is ALL. You see, we have a tendency to acknowledge Him in some things but not in all things. And this is where we get into trouble. Its like when I use Google Maps to get from Point A to Point B. And I choose to follow Most of the directions but not ALL of the directions. When I do this I usually don’t get where I am going without a lot of recalibration. And it is the recalibrations in life that are often painful, confusing, and exhausting.
He will make straight your paths – I hate detours. When I am trying to get somewhere and I am forced to take a detour I get very frustrated. God’s promise to us is that we can avoid the detours. He will make straight our paths. Sounds like a good deal to me – now all I need to do is trust, lean, and acknowledge.
Why this verse is foundational – Trust is a major issue for believers. Therefore, when it comes to our walk with God we have to get over our trust issues and learn how to be proficient leaners.