“Charting God’s Path”- Proverbs 3:5-6

Faith Presbyterian Church             Quincy, Illinois

Sunday Morning Service, July 13, 2025

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“Charting God’s Path”- Dr. Tom Dickerson

Most of you know, we just finished an amazing time of Vacation Bible School. Our theme for our 4-day journey, was True North. 

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But I wanted to share a little more about that this morning. The theme was about Finding your way in a world gone wild!  The children, youth, and adults learned that “Jesus” is our true north.  What does that mean?  It means that Jesus is our rock-solid foundation, and True North points each of us to Jesus, who is steadfast and unshakeable, our friend and our God forever.  On this Alaskan adventure, we saw the northern lights over majestic mountains, racing rivers, and sparkling glaciers that God created.  As we made our way across the tundra, we learned just how easy it can be to lose sight of what’s true in our wild world today.

Today, we are going to spend a few minutes on a timeless truth from the book of Proverbs, a passage that serves as a compass for navigating the complexities of life: Proverbs 3:5-6.

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The title of today’s sermon is Charting God's Path, and we will explore how trusting in God, submitting to His will, and surrendering our limited understanding can lead us to a life aligned with His divine purpose.

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Modern-Day Analogy: The Pilot’s Pre-Flight Checklist (5 minutes)

Imagine a pilot preparing for a transatlantic flight. Before takeoff, they follow a meticulous pre-flight checklist: inspecting the aircraft, checking fuel levels, verifying navigation systems, and reviewing weather conditions. This process isn’t rushed or left to chance—it’s a disciplined act of trust in proven protocols to ensure a safe journey. One missed step could lead to disaster, but thorough preparation brings confidence that the plane will reach its destination.

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Similarly, a paratrooper packing a parachute follows a precise process. Every fold, every cord, every seam is checked and double-checked. Why? Because their life depends on it. They don’t rely on their own instincts but on the training and standards that have been proven reliable.

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In the same way, Proverbs 3:5-6 is our divine checklist for charting God’s path. Trusting God fully, setting aside our limited understanding, and acknowledging Him in every decision ensures we “take off” or “jump” with confidence, knowing He is guiding us to a safe landing.

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Life is a journey filled with decisions—some small, like what to eat for dinner, and others more epic, like choosing a career, a spouse, whether to relocate for a new opportunity, or even picking a church family. As Christians, we are called to make these decisions not by relying on our own wisdom but by trusting in the Creator of the Universe, whose perspective is infinitely greater than our own. Today, I’d like to unpack the scriptural significance of Proverbs 3:5-6, explore its practical application, and consider how it challenges us to ask, “Are we following and trusting Christ in ways that He would find pleasing unto Himself?”

Prayer

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Proverbs 3:5-6-"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge (NIV-submit) to him, and he will make straight your paths."- ESV

Tim Keller described it this way in a primer on living:

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Prov 3:3-5a)(NIV)

Put your heart's deepest trust in God and his grace. Every day remind yourself of his unconditioned, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance. God gave him a gift…

Proverbs, was written primarily by King Solomon, is described as a book of wisdom literature, that offers you and I, practical guidance for living a godly life. Some would say that Proverbs 3:5-6 is a cornerstone of this wisdom, as it encapsulates three key essentials for the believer:

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Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart The Hebrew word for “trust” here is batach (Bahtauk), which conveys a sense of confidence, security, and reliance. So, to trust in the Lord with all our heart means to place our complete faith in Him, without reservation. This is not a half-hearted commitment, this isn’t one foot in the boat, one on dry land, but a wholehearted surrender, trusting God even when circumstances seem uncertain or daunting.  Not just “even when” but “especially when” things seem out of control.  Psalm 62:8 echoes this: “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Trusting God fully requires us to let go of our need for control and allow ourselves to rest in His power.

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Lean Not on Your Own Understanding This phrase “lean not on your own understanding” warns against relying solely on our own human reasoning. Have you ever looked at GPS on your phone or in the car.  Many vehicles have this in or out zoom feature.  So, you can make the map bigger or smaller, down the particular city street, or view the entire US map. When you zoom out, you no longer have the focus you had before. The view is entirely different.  Our general understanding about life, is often so limited, it's mostly shaped by incomplete snippets of information, our unsteady emotions, and our developed biases along the way. To lean on our own understanding is to trust in the finite (what we understand, what we can touch, what we can see in the moment) rather than the infinite, God’s view.

When you were 15, and you likely looked back at when you were 10, the decisions made, (the hair and clothes alone) you likely thought you were crazy.  When you were 20, and you looked back at 15-year-old decisions, you thought you were crazy.  When you were 35, you looked back at 20-year-old decisions, that seemed brilliant at the time, and yes, that’s right, how crazy you must have been.

This command challenges us to recognize our limitations and seek God’s wisdom instead of our own.

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In All Your Ways Submit to Him The Hebrew word for “submit” (or “acknowledge” in some translations) is yada, (not yada, yada, yada) but in Hebrew meaning to know or recognize. To submit to God in all our ways is to invite Him into every aspect of our lives—our relationships, careers, finances, and dreams. It’s a call to live with an awareness of God’s presence and to align our decisions with His will.

Submission is an active choice to prioritize God’s guidance over our own desires. James 4:7 reinforces this: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Another God formula for our success.

The promise of this Proverbs passage is that when we trust, refrain from leaning on our own understanding, and submit to God, “He will make our paths straight.” This doesn’t mean a life free of obstacles, but a life directed by God’s purpose, where He clears the way for His will to unfold.

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As we all learned at Bible School, no matter what, we can always “trust Jesus!”

That means:

When our minds wonder, we can trust Jesus.

When we feel alone, we can trust Jesus.

When we feel powerless, we can trust Jesus.

When we need hope, we can trust Jesus.

When we need help, we can trust Jesus

God’s Big Picture: Is beyond Our Comprehension

One of the most profound truths of Proverbs 3:5-6 is that it points us to the vastness of God’s perspective. As humans, we see only a fragment of God’s designs,

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while God sees the entire blueprint.

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His plans span generations, and weave together events in ways we cannot fathom. Ephesians 3:20 describes God as “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,” – what does this mean?

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“Immeasurable” means that something by its very nature is beyond our ability to ever measure it. For us on earth, God's grace is immeasurable, it's not unmeasurable, we can never experience the boundaries or the limits of God’s love and grace.

Remember the story of Joseph in Genesis. Sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused, and imprisoned, Joseph could have despaired, (maybe we would have) leaning on his own understanding. Yet, he trusted God through every trial. I don’t know how many of us would be so resilient, that faithful. Knowing the outcome, we might easily say “sure we would have trusted.”  But would we?

But it wasn’t until years later, as Egypt’s second-in-command, he saw God’s bigger picture: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). What seemed like chaos was part of God’s divine plan to preserve a nation. When we trust God, we acknowledge that His big picture is far greater than our limited view.  And yes that takes faith and sometimes, a lot of patience.

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We are called to make decisions

As Christians, we are called to make decisions on a daily basis, that reflect our faith in God. Whether it’s choosing a career, navigating a relationship, or facing a health crisis, or picking a church, we must ask, “Are we following Christ in a way that would be pleasing to Him? Are we relying on man’s wisdom or the wisdom of the Creator?

So, how can we, as individuals and as a church, chart God’s path in our decision-making? Here are four practical steps:

It Starts with Prayer

Prayer is our direct line to God’s heart. Philippians 4:6-7 instructs, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Before making decisions, I hope you are spending time in prayer, asking God for wisdom and clarity. Be honest about your fears and desires, and listen… spend some time listening for His still, small voice.

Search the Scriptures God’s Word is a “lamp for our feet and a light for our path” (Psalm 119:105). The Bible provides principles for decision-making.

Seek Godly Counsel Surround yourself with mature Christians who can offer wisdom and perspective. A trusted pastor, mentor, or small group can help you discern God’s will.  Don’t be hesitant to lean on others.  If nothing else, ask them to pray for your decisions and let the Holy Spirit move to make your pathway more clear.

Surrender the Outcome This may be the hardest. Trusting God means letting go of the need to control the results. When we submit to Him, we trust that He will make our paths straight, even if the journey looks different than we expected. As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).  Ask God to for this mindset when asking Him for something.  I’ll admit, it’s hard to say, harder to mean. Sometimes when we’ve tried everything else, we make the decision to pray like this.  The Simple truth:  Jesus wants us to trust Him.

The Ultimate Question: Who Are You Trusting to chart your plan?

As we close, let’s reflect on the heart of Proverbs 3:5-6: And here’s the ultimate question for us today.  We have many opportunities in life.  We have a lot of challenges too.  We have many difficulties because man often creates obstacles that can easily get between us and God.  We create all sorts of man-made rules that have little to do with the True message of Jesus.  Yet we constantly try to design things on our own.  We often see God being placed in a box that we’d prefer to hold the key to decide who’s in and who’s out, because honestly that’s where we feel most comfortable.  Because when we can control things and other people, it makes us feel powerful, maybe even holier than lesser Christians. 

The question boils down to a simple question. In whom do I put my trust? Trusting God means taking off the armor that stunts our growth and instead choosing vulnerability. Trusting God means exhaling all the air in our lungs and believing that the next inhalation will come. And when, eventually, it doesn’t, still trusting that our eternally loving God will be ready to receive us in heaven.

Every decision we make is an opportunity to trust God, to acknowledge His sovereignty, and to follow Christ in a way that He would glorify Him. 

I’m not that smart, so let’s maybe we take a lesson from VBS.  Trust Jesus.

Jesus said love is the foundation. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, recognizing that God loves you, and He wants the very best for you.

That we are to extend that love to people, all people, even the ones that aren’t like us, are mean to us, try to criticize us, tell us we don’t measure up.  What about compassion, helping people, sharing the good news of the gospel. 

Jesus took a bunch of fisherman and others, and through an active of love, transformed them into disciples of the faith.  Nothing you and I can do will ever be good enough, will never measure high enough.  It’s only when God works “through us”, when God extends his power, his gifts, his grace, his resources through us, only then will great things be accomplished.

The world will tempt us to lean on our own understanding—our own logic, the logic of men, our plans, their plans, their desires or our own. But God calls each of us to a higher standard: to trust Him with all our heart, to submit every aspect of our lives to Him, and to trust that He will guide us.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, as you face decisions—big or small—remember Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, submit to Him. And trust that He will make your paths straight.

Let’s commit to charting God’s path, knowing that His plans are far greater than we can imagine.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word, which guides us through the uncertainties of life. Help us to trust You with all our hearts, to surrender our plans to Your will, and to follow the path You have set before us. May our decisions honor You and reflect our faith in Your infinite wisdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.