Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Note that the proverb begins: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart" (v. 5a). In the original Hebrew of the Old Testament, "trust" (v. 5a) meant to rely on, or put confidence in. The word for "heart" (v. 5a) referred to the inner person, the self, or the seat of thought and emotion.

To "trust in the LORD with all your heart" (v. 5a) means just what it says. You are instructed to trust and put confidence in the Lord Jesus with all you are—with your whole being. Everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do flows directly out of your trust in God. He is your guiding light.

This leads us into the rest of this verse: "And lean not on your own understanding" (v. 5b). In the Hebrew, "lean" (v. 5b) means to rely on, and "understanding" (v. 5b) has to do with insight, discernment, good sense, wisdom, usually referring to the wisdom that comes from the Lord Jesus and his instruction.

When you "trust in the LORD" (v. 5a) with your whole being, and everything you think, say, and do comes from Him, you are leaning on Jesus, not yourself. You are trusting and living daily by the wisdom that comes from God and His Word.

This is further defined in verse 6: "In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." The Hebrew for "ways" (v. 6a) refers to a path, a journey, or conduct, a way of life. It has to do with how you live your life.

In Hebrew, "acknowledge" (v. 6a) means to recognize, to understand or to know intimately. To "acknowledge Him" (v. 6a) then means to know Jesus intimately as your personal Lord and Savior and to recognize the authority of His Word in everything, and to follow it.

In everything you do, follow Jesus! How you live your life every day is to flow from your intimate knowledge of Jesus. How you live your life every day is to flow right from the Scriptures. Let God direct your path and follow Him.

When you live by the Word of God and by faith in Jesus, "He shall direct your paths" (v. 6b). The NIV translates this, "He will make straight your paths." To "make straight" (v.6b) in Hebrew, means to do good, do right, be straight; to make straight, make smooth or to be evenly hammered. From the base meaning of straightening out a crooked object comes the idea of doing an act that is right or just.

Again, like the Hebrew for "ways" (v. 6a), the word for "paths" (v. 6b) refers to a road, a way, a path, or a thoroughfare; by extension it refers again to our way of life, or manner of conduct; how we live every day.

When we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and when we let Him guide us in the way we should live our lives, He will give us direction. He will guide us by His Word as to what we should think, what we should say, and what we should do every day. Just trust in Him! Let Jesus live and work in and through you. Amen.