Slow down. Look closer. Let the Word speak.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

I have quoted this Scripture so many times.

Maybe you have too.

But sometimes we know a Scripture so well that we read right over it. We know what it says, but we haven't stopped lately to think about what it is actually telling us to do.

So let's slow down and look at it.

Because there is a whole lot packed into these two little verses.

“Trust in the LORD…”

The Hebrew word translated trust is batach — Strong's H982.

It carries the idea of trusting, being confident, feeling secure, or putting your confidence in someone.

Now notice what the verse doesn't say.

It doesn't say:

• Trust that everything will work out exactly the way you planned.
• Trust that nothing difficult will happen.
• Trust your feelings.
• Trust your ability to figure it out.

It says:

Trust in the LORD.

The object of our trust matters.

There is a difference between saying, “I believe everything is going to turn out the way I want,” and saying, “Whatever happens, I know who God is.”

Those are not the same thing.

Sometimes we think faith means being certain about the outcome.

But I can be uncertain about the outcome and still be certain about God.

I may not know what He's going to do.

I may not know when He's going to do it.

I may not even understand what He's doing right now.

But I can still say:

“Lord, I trust You.”

And that's where this verse starts.

Not with understanding.

With trust.

“…with all your heart”

The Hebrew word for heart here is leb — Strong's H3820.

And this is bigger than what we usually mean in English when we talk about the heart.

Strong's includes the inner person, mind, will, heart and understanding within the range of this word. It can refer not only to emotion, but also to thinking, intention and determination.

So when Scripture says:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,”

it isn't just saying, “Feel really strongly about God.”

This involves your thinking.

Your will.

Your decisions.

Your emotions.

Your intentions.

Your whole inner person.

And notice another little word:

all.

The Hebrew kol carries the sense of the whole or totality.

That's where this gets challenging.

Because I can trust God with part of my heart and still be trying to control another part.

“Lord, I trust You with my children…but I'm going to worry about them all night.”

“Lord, I trust You with my finances…but I'm terrified You won't provide.”

“Lord, I trust You with this decision…but I've already decided what Your answer needs to be.”

Anybody ever do that?

I have.

We can say we trust God while still holding one little piece back saying, “But I need to handle this part.”

Yet the Scripture says all your heart.

That's surrender.

“Lean not…”

Now this word is interesting.

Lean comes from the Hebrew sha'an — Strong's H8172.

It means to lean on, support oneself upon, rely upon, or rest oneself on something.

Think about physically leaning against something.

If I put my full weight against a wall, I am trusting that wall to hold me.

If the wall moves, I'm going with it.

That's the picture I see when I read this now.

God isn't saying you cannot have understanding.

He's asking:

What are you putting your weight on?

And there is a wonderful supporting passage that uses this very same Hebrew word.

In 2 Chronicles 16:7, King Asa was confronted because he had relied on the king of Aram instead of relying on the LORD. Both occurrences of “relied” use sha'an—the same word translated “lean” in Proverbs 3:5.

That's powerful.

Asa had a plan.

He had a human solution.

It probably made sense.

But God wasn't simply concerned that Asa had made a plan.

The issue was where Asa had placed his reliance.

And we still do this.

We lean on money.

We lean on people.

We lean on doctors.

We lean on our experience.

We lean on our education.

We lean on our own ability.

Now, none of those things are necessarily bad.

Thank God for doctors.

Thank God for wisdom.

Thank God for people who help us.

Use the resources God gives you.

But don't confuse the resource with the Source.

There's a difference between using something and leaning your whole weight against it.

“…unto your own understanding.”

Here's another important word.

Understanding is binah — Strong's H998.

It refers to understanding or discernment.

And this is where we need to read carefully.

The Bible is not against understanding.

In fact, Proverbs 4:7 actually tells us to get understanding, and it uses the same Hebrew word, binah.

So Proverbs 3:5 cannot mean:

• “Don't think.”
• “Don't ask questions.”
• “Don't use wisdom.”
• “Don't try to understand.”

That's not what it says.

It says:

Don't lean on your own understanding.

There's the difference.

Get understanding.

Seek wisdom.

Learn.

Ask questions.

Pray.

Research.

Listen.

But at the end of all of that, remember:

You still don't know everything God knows.

And sometimes that's difficult for us.

Because we want God to explain Himself.

“Lord, why did You let this happen?”

“Why didn't You answer that prayer?”

“Why did that door close?”

“Why is this taking so long?”

“Why are You telling me to go this direction when this other direction makes so much more sense?”

And sometimes God's answer is not an explanation.

Sometimes He asks us to trust Him without one.

That's when one of the most powerful prayers you can pray is:

“Lord, I don't understand, but I trust You.”

You're not denying reality.

You're not pretending you aren't hurting.

You're not pretending you don't have questions.

You're simply refusing to make your limited understanding the final authority.

“In all your ways…”

The word translated ways is derek — Strong's H1870.

It can mean a road, way or journey, but it is also used figuratively for a person's course of life or manner of living.

So this isn't just talking about the big crossroads.

We tend to seek God when life gets big.

“Lord, should I take this job?”

“Should I move?”

“Should I marry this person?”

“Should I start this ministry?”

And absolutely, ask Him.

But all your ways goes much further than that.

How am I going to handle this conversation?

How am I going to respond to this person who hurt me?

What am I doing with my money?

How am I treating my family?

How am I spending my time?

What am I allowing into my mind?

What am I doing today?

God doesn't just want access to the dramatic parts of your life.

He wants to walk with you through the ordinary parts too.

“…acknowledge Him”

This may be my favorite part of the whole word study.

The Hebrew translated acknowledge is yada — Strong's H3045.

Its basic sense is to know. Its range includes knowing, perceiving, recognizing, discerning and knowing by experience.

So “acknowledge Him” is deeper than:

“Yep, God's there.”

It isn't just giving God a little nod before you go about your business.

The Hebrew literally pushes us toward the idea:

Know Him in all your ways.

And we see this same word used beautifully in Jeremiah 9:24, where God speaks of the person who knows Me. The Hebrew word there is also yada.

That changes how I hear Proverbs 3:6.

This is relationship.

Know God as you walk through your life.

Know Him in your marriage.

Know Him while you're raising children.

Know Him at work.

Know Him when you're sick.

Know Him when you're celebrating.

Know Him while you're waiting.

Know Him when you have absolutely no idea what to do next.

This isn't just:

“God, tell me what decision to make.”

It's:

“God, I want to know You while I'm making it.”

And I think sometimes we're so busy asking God for direction that we miss the relationship He wants to develop while He's directing us.

We want the answer.

God wants us to know Him.

“…and He shall direct your paths.”

The word translated direct comes from yashar — Strong's H3474.

It carries the sense of making something straight, right, smooth, or directing it straight along.

Then paths is orach — Strong's H734, referring to a way or path and even carrying the imagery of a traveled road.

Look at the order.

We want:

“He shall direct your paths.”

Of course we do!

“God, show me where to go.”

“God, tell me what to do.”

“God, make this clear.”

But before the promise comes the instruction.

Trust Him.

With your whole heart.

Don't put all your weight on your own understanding.

Know Him throughout the whole course of your life.

And He will straighten the path.

That doesn't necessarily mean the path will always be comfortable.

Straight doesn't mean painless.

It means I'm not responsible for seeing the entire road before I begin walking.

God is.

Maybe that's where you are today.

You keep asking God to show you five miles down the road, and He's trying to show you the next ten feet.

And maybe you don't need the whole map.

Maybe you need to trust the Guide.

What Are You Leaning On?

So go back to that one word:

lean.

What has your weight right now?

Your own ability to solve it?

Another person's opinion?

Your bank account?

A diagnosis?

What you can see?

What happened last time?

Or God?

You can make plans.

You can seek wise counsel.

You can research.

You can learn.

You can use every bit of understanding God gives you.

But at some point we have to say:

“Father, I've done what I know to do. Now I'm putting my weight on You.”

And maybe today your prayer really can be that simple:

Prayer

Father, Your Word tells me to trust You with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding.

Lord, show me what I've been leaning on.

If I've put more confidence in myself, another person, my circumstances, or what I can see than I have in You, forgive me.

I give You [situation].

I don't understand all of it.

I don't know what happens next.

But I know You.

And I want to know You even more as I walk through this.

Give me wisdom, but don't let me make my own wisdom my god.

Give me understanding, but remind me that my understanding is limited and Yours is not.

I acknowledge You in this situation.

I want You involved in every part of it.

If I'm going the wrong way, redirect me.

If I'm trying to run ahead of You, slow me down.

If You've already told me what to do and I'm afraid to do it, give me the courage to obey.

Father, straighten my path.

I don't need to see the whole road.

I just need to trust You with the next step.

Lord, I don't understand everything.

But I trust You.

In Jesus' name, amen.