Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. Proverbs 3:5 (RSV)
This is a familiar Scripture that teaches us to trust in the Lord wholeheartedly in the way we live, instead of relying on our own understanding. Specifically, this means ordering our lives according to God’s commandments and teachings, doing so even if it doesn’t seem to make sense to us (Proverbs 3:1, 6, 7).
Trusting God like this is difficult because we are rational beings who want to figure things out ourselves and because we instinctively want to protect our self-interests. However, trusting God rather than our understanding makes good sense because we don’t know everything but God does and He has our interests at heart and His commandments are meant for our good! So what looks like a delay or a detour to us might just be God’s perfect timing and what feels like disappointment might well be God’s protection. His ways are always better, even when they don’t seem to make sense at first.
Cultivating certain habits will help us to trust in the Lord rather than rely on our own insight.
Consider King David who is called a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). David habitually enquired of the Lord to know His will and to do it (c.f., 1 Samuel 23:1-5, 9-14, 30:8; 2 Samuel 2:1, 5:19, 23). For example, he was running for his life from King Saul when he was told the Philistines had attacked Keilah. David asked God if he should attack the Philistines. God said yes. David’s men protested and tried to dissuade him because it’s a very dangerous mission. So he enquired of God again. When God again said yes, David led his men and risked their lives to save Keilah. David habitually enquired of God in decision making and so was able to rely on God rather than his own understanding.
Application
Start each day by seeking God in prayer, worship, and meditating on His Word. Pray Proverbs 3:5-6 back to God, “Lord, today I choose to trust in You with all my heart. I won’t rely on what I think or feel, but I will listen to You. Please lead me and make my path straight.”
During the day, don’t be presumptuous in decision making. Invite the Lord into your decisions, even those that are within the scope of your experience and expertise and those that seem to be foregone conclusions. Before making a decision, pause to consider: is there a Biblical command, teaching or principle that has bearing on the decision? Before replying to a difficult email, or committing to a new responsibility, or planning for a holiday, pause and pray: “Lord, I want to submit this to You. What would You have me do?” God may or may not give you a direct response, but the very act of checking with Him demonstrates trust in Him and a refusal to rely on your own ability, experience, wisdom and understanding. If you can, pray in tongues often during the day, especially idle times like waiting alone in a queue or at traffic lights.
Don’t be presumptuous in action too. Before operationalising a decision, executing a plan, or even embarking on ministry, pause to pray for God’s wisdom, favour, help, and anointing. Tell Him your dependence is not on yourself but on Him. This will remind you and signal God that you’re not relying on yourself but trusting in Him. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord!
DAILY MEDITATIONS:
Monday:Proverbs 3:5-7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
Tuesday: Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Wednesday: Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Thursday: Jeremiah 17:7-8
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Friday: Zechariah 4:6
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Saturday: Psalm 32:8-9
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
Sunday: Psalm 37:5-6
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures are quoted from the New International Version.
By Pastor Yong Tai Tong
