5 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 your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB
My Understanding or His Wisdom?
In my Bible, Proverbs 3 is noted as “The Rewards of Wisdom.” It is this wisdom that encourages us to place our trust in the Lord. The original Hebrew word that we translate into “trust” also means to be bold, confident, and sure. Understanding this additional insight brings a whole new meaning to this passage for me.
The trust that I place in the Lord should be bold; it should be placed with all faith believing, even if that means others will consider me foolish for doing so. My trust in Him should also be done in all confidence, knowing that He who holds all things, certainly holds my life as well. Lastly, the placing of trust in the Lord should be final and we should place this trust with surety in the One in whom we have it placed. As it is final, we are not to walk back on this trust, but to continue forward in faith. Our trust in Him is to be considered a closed case, a fact of life that is as resolute as our desire to breathe.
With All My Heart
This brings us to the last part of that first line; we are to trust in Him “with all [our] heart.” The word “heart” here means the very center of our physical and spiritual being. It represents the entirety of who we are.
To say we trust Him “with all our heart” means that we have staked our very lives, our entire existence and ability to live on His wisdom alone.
Likewise, to declare that we place the center of our lives on His wisdom requires us to also renounce any desire to depend on our own understanding. We cannot have it both ways; we either align the center of our lives on His wisdom or our own understanding.
In All My Ways
In verse 6, the Hebrew word for “ways” means the following: road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action. The writer here is saying that along every path we take, every road we travel, every course of life or mode of action, we are to acknowledge Him. To acknowledge Him literally means “to know [Him]; to ascertain by seeing.” Our instruction here is to seek out His wisdom (or aid) in every action we take; yes, every one of them.
Do I seek to know Him (to see Him) in every course of my life? Are my eyes fixed on Him regardless of what is going on around me? I hope so, but wherever I lack in this area, I do hope that daily I am seeking His ways more and more.
Straight Paths
However, if we will only choose to trust in Him (with boldness, confidence, and surety of our will), we can expect to receive a promised blessing: straight paths. The Hebrew word for “make” in verse 6 literally means to direct. What the writer of this passage is trying to tell us is that if we will trust in Him, He will direct us in a path that is straight, or “upright and true.” To a young person this may seem like an insignificant benefit. But to those of us who have had the experience of crooked, winding, self-willed paths, we see this promise as an incredible, protective, life-giving reward. Yes, a reward that is worth the giving up of our own shallow understanding to seek out the One who knows all things and to rely on His wisdom alone.
Your Life in His Hands
Are you tired of directing yourself down paths that are full of trouble? Have you come to a point of despair from trying to figure out how to wrestle with all the different decisions and trials that you face? I encourage you to place your trust, from the center of your entire being, on the One who has all wisdom, and knowledge, and understanding. It is then that you will be able to rest and find peace as He directs you along straight paths.
Matt