Heart-Filled Trust How
How do I achieve more in my relationship with God?
A. Trusting Completely
Trust … heart—This is the center and marrow of true wisdom (
3:5 Trust Yahweh Since wisdom comes from Yahweh (
To trust in the LORD wholeheartedly means one should not rely (lean) on his understanding, for human insights are never enough.
Heart in Hebrew refers to one’s emotions (
The words trust in the LORD echo the command of
Entire trust in God is the only logical position for Christians to take. God has all knowledge and all power, and foresees and prepares against all the troubles that come upon man as sudden emergencies. For anyone to rely on his own understanding under such circumstances is foolish indeed.
To place little confidence in one’s own understanding does not mean that a man must lay aside intelligence and give up the power of choice. Intelligence is needed to determine from the Word of God and from God’s guiding providences what is the divine will.
To trust anything or anyone other than the LORD results in disaster (11:28; 28:26; cp.
The Hebrew word for trust means to lie down on—to put your entire weight on something. When you go to sleep at night, you lie down on your bed because you believe it is strong enough to hold you up. “With all your heart” means entirely, without exception. So in essence God says, “Trust me completely; I can sustain you. Your own understanding won’t support you.”
The proof that we’re not trusting God—even when we say we do—is when we turn to other sources first to address life’s problems. If you want to know where your trust is, ask yourself, “Where do I turn first when I need help?”
Trust in the LORD is necessary for following the wise ways of life taught in Proverbs. Trusting the Lord is closely connected to fearing him (see note on 1:7; see 2:5; 9:10; 15:33; 19:23; etc.). Do not lean on your own understanding further explains what it means to trust in the Lord. The wise will govern themselves by what the Lord himself declares. They do not trust their own finite and often-mistaken understanding if it opposes God’s word.
Ver. 5.—Trust in the Lord (b’takh ely’hovah); literally, trust in Jehovah. Entire reliance upon Jehovah, implied in the words, “with all thine heart,” is here appropriately placed at the head of a series of admonitions which especially have God and man’s relations with him in view, inasmuch as such confidence or trust, with its corresponding idea of the renunciation of reliance on self,
It is the first lesson to be learnt by all, and no less necessary for the Jew than for the Christian. Without this reliance on or confidence in God, it is impossible to carry out any of the precepts of religion.
The admonition does not mean that we are not to use our own understanding (binah), i.e. form plans with discretion, and employ legitimate means in the pursuit of our ends, but that, when we use it, we are to depend upon God and his directing and overruling providence
B. Trusting Consistently
ways—(
acknowledge—by seeking His wise aid (
direct—literally, “make plain” (compare
As a person trusts in the Lord and acknowledges Him (this is not a nod of recognition but an intimate knowledge of God) in all his ways (cf. all your heart, 3:5), he finds that God makes his paths straight. This means more than guidance; it means God removes the obstacles, making a smooth path or way of life, or perhaps better, bringing one to the appointed goal.
The idea is reinforced here by the command to acknowledge Him, which means to observe Him and get to know Him in the process of living. In doing so, a person finds time and time again that God smoothes out paths.
6. He shall direct. Or, “it is He who will direct.” The Hebrew emphasizes that God Himself will make straight and plain the path of His servant, when His servant acknowledges Him in every phase of life’s many activities.
3:6 To know God in all your ways is to invite his presence into all daily activities and decisions. Make your paths straight (or smooth) means that God will make righteousness attainable.
“In all your ways know him” is an umbrella statement covering anything having to do with your life. Pleasing God in all things is to become your goal. When you write a check, you need to be certain that you have the resources on deposit in the bank to cover the purchase.
When you rely on God in all you do, “he will make your paths straight.” Life is crooked. It doesn’t take long to figure that out. But God can remove the obstacles and cut a path through the woods. He will make sure your road reaches the right destination.
An old axiom says, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” But when you are walking in the will of God, your life heads in a straight line no matter how the road curves.
Jesus Christ knows the end from the beginning, the start from the finish. He knows where you need to be, how you are supposed to get there, and what route you should take. God wants you to trust him so you can start living.
3:6 To make straight one’s paths means to continually progress toward a goal. In Proverbs, the emphasis is on the moral quality of one’s life path.
In all thy ways. This expression covers the whole area of life’s action—all its acts and undertakings, its spiritual and secular sides, no less than its public and private. It guards against our acknowledging God in great crises and solemn acts of worship only (Plumptre).
The Hebrew verb yada signifies “to know, recognize.” To acknowledge God is, therefore, to recognize, in all our dealings and undertakings, God’s overruling providence, which “shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we will.”
And he shall direct thy paths (v’hu y’yashsher or’khotheyka); i.e. he himself shall make them straight, or level, removing all obstacles out of the way; or they shall, under God’s direction, prosper and come to a successful issue; they shall be virtuous, inasmuch as deviation into vice will be guarded against, and happy, because they are prosperous.
When you have sought to know His will, your part in the operation with God is to believe that you will be led and guided and blessed in the doing of His will. We may mistrust ourselves lest we misinterpret His teachings, but make even this a subject of prayer, and trust Him, still trust Him to the uttermost, that His Holy Spirit will lead you to interpret aright His plans and the working of His providence.
