Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

To trust in the Lord means more than believing in who he is and what he says; the word here for trust can also mean “to have confidence in.” Having confidence in something means having an assurance that leads to action. Trust in the Lord is a faith that lets us boldly serve. This confidence should infuse our whole being. All of our knowledge, wisdom, and will should be saturated in the action-producing assurance of the Lord.

When we lean on our own understanding, we trust our own knowledge and discernment to support us through life. As Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, the problem with this is that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Our own sinful nature can’t be counted on.

"In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:6)

Acknowledging God means knowing God wherever we are and whatever we are doing. This doesn’t just mean intellectual assent, but an act of perceiving his character and will in every moment of life.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." (verses 7-8)

It’s not that life no longer has difficulties, but that those difficulties are nothing to fear and that we can remain confident in God in the midst of them. He keeps us vibrant and useful to His will even when we feel languished or that the times are against us.

As we trust more in Jesus and have confidence to act on his will, we may have to turn down opportunities that seem great because Jesus has called us elsewhere, or accept callings that scare us. Acknowledging God in everything means that we remember that no circumstances come to us outside of the Father’s will. Knowing this will give us strength even through difficulties, pains, and fears, because we know that God will never leave our side.

"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil." (Proverbs 3:7)

Putting trust in the wisdom of man, looking to ourselves—both individually and corporately—is futile in the extreme.

"I will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." (Proverbs 3:8)

Trust in the Lord and fearful awe of the Lord revives us.

The word for flesh here is only used in two other verses in the Bible. In one it means “umbilical cord,” and in the other “navel.” Therefore, the healing spoken of here has a connotation of birth, as if trust in the Lord is tantamount to a rebirth.

Trusting in the Lord is the only path to life, and nowhere is this seen more fully than in the life and work of Christ. In his life, he trusted the Father totally, even to his death; through his work on the cross, his resurrection, and his ascension he offers us new life, pouring his Spirit into our hearts.

In a culture of misplaced trusts, broken promises, and damaged lives, only Jesus is unshakable, unchangeable, unbreakable, and worthy of all our trust. Only he trusted the Father perfectly with all his heart, making straight the path for our salvation so we too would trust him. Through him, God offers healing, wisdom, and love to the world, if we only we acknowledge him in all our ways.

God bless you,

Paul Delisle