Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding

Have you ever questioned the Lord for why He had allowed certain circumstances in your life to happen? Have you ever doubted His perfect character as you faced uncertainty? Have you ever disbelieved His holy purposes as you were confronted with fear? If we are to be honest, we’ve done it numerous times. And every single time that we question, doubt, and disbelieve in who God is, we must not downplay its offensiveness to God. Every single time that we question, doubt, and disbelieve in who God is, it is actually an act of distrusting Him.

Too often, we do not see the full weight of what our distrust looks like in God’s sight. We box the definition of distrust to simply “not believing enough” and fail to see it for what it actually is: disbelieving God’s eternally unchanging character, God’s absolutely perfect purposes, and God’s completely accomplished work.

How does God want us to trust in Him? Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” God demands our wholehearted trust in Him. God demands that our complete confidence be found in Him. God demands that our lasting hope be rooted in Him.

Why can we wholeheartedly trust in God?

1. Because His character is eternally unchanging - Malachi 3:6 says, “For I, the Lord, do not change.” Here we are reminded that God’s character will remain the same throughout eternity.

2. Because His purposes are absolutely perfect - Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 11:36 says, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Here we are reminded that God purposes all things for our good and for His glory.

3. Because His work has secured our salvation - John 10:28-30 says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Here we are reminded of the eternal salvation that Christ has secured for us.

Trusting God is not our default and automatic response. What often happens first is that we allow our situations, our worries, and our fears, to overwhelm us. What happens next is a reliance on our own capabilities and will. And as a result, we do the opposite of drawing near to the Lord and putting our complete confidence in Him. Trusting God requires consistent intentionality and undivided completeness. Jerry Bridges put it so well when he said, “Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelms us.”

The rightful owner of our wholehearted trust is God whose character is eternally unchanging, whose purposes are absolutely perfect, and whose work has secured our salvation.

As we begin a new week, may we ask the Lord for a heart that would trust Him intentionally, completely, and confidently. For it is only in trusting in Him that we can truly find ourselves worshipping Him, serving Him, and honoring Him in the way that would please Him.