Why Must We “Trust in the Lord with All Our Heart”?
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Most Christians are familiar with Proverbs 3:5-6 and many have memorized the verses. My father wrote these verses in the front of my Bible when I left for college because he believed I would need their instruction not only to make wise choices during my college years, but also throughout my life.
These two verses in Proverbs are listed among the top ten most popular Bible verses and, according to World Vision, they are also listed among the Scriptures most searched for online. Proverbs 3:5-6 is often used to counsel and encourage believers as they make decisions in life. Notice the simplicity and strength in these two verses:
“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.”
These beloved verses both educate and inspire, and they deserve further examination.
What Does This Verse Mean?
At least 3,000 proverbs were attributed to wise King Solomon. They were not meant as guarantees that if we do what God asks, He will do exactly what we want or in the way we want it. Rather, Solomon’s proverbs are principles for a blessed, prosperous life. David’s son wrote the book of Proverbs to help his people gain wisdom and instruction so they could act prudently, justly, and righteously.
His instruction had several audiences: Jewish believers in general, parents seeking wisdom, and young people. Solomon said in Proverbs 1:5, “let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”
In verses three and four, Solomon focused on two virtues every child of God should adopt — steadfast love and faithfulness — because they reflect two of God’s attributes. Solomon noted in verse seven that to fear the Lord, which is to respect and obey Him, is the beginning of the kind of knowledge that brings wisdom.
In particular, Solomon offered wise counsel to the young. Proverbs 3 is part of the king’s advice to his “son,” but he was not necessarily addressing one of his own sons, such as Rehoboam or his other progeny. MacLaren’s Expositions says the term “my son” is “the address of a teacher to his disciples, rather than of a father to his child.” Solomon, in Proverbs, takes on the role of both counselor and teacher. His advice to the young — and perhaps taught to his own children as part of their education — begins in 1:8 and continues throughout the book.
Proverbs 3 is sometimes called an “admonition discourse,” because it contains warnings and instruction on how to live. It also speaks to the well-being that wisdom bestows. For example, wisdom tells us to shun evil, honor God with our wealth, and not despise His discipline.
Wisdom is personified by a woman in verses 13-18. This is not connected to literal gender, but is a grammatical rendering in the Hebrew that Solomon employs as he make comparisons between the wise and foolish. One such example is his contrast between the elegant lady of wisdom who is “more precious than rubies” (verse 15) and a foolish woman — described as a “prostitute,” adulteress, and “folly” — who will cause loss, destruction, or death.
Proverbs 3:5-6 comprises one unified theme: the wisdom of depending on God versus depending on self — especially when it involves choices and direction.
Why Should We Not Lean on Our Own Understanding?
Proverbs 3:5 includes two complementary commands, one positive and one negative. “Trust in the Lord” is at the beginning of a series of admonitions about the relationship between God and man. Solomon urges God’s people to place their trust in God rather than leaning on their own understanding.
To trust God means to place our total security in Him. God is faithful and trustworthy, and the more we choose to know and trust Him, the more we will understand His will for us. Our perspective is limited, but God’s perspective is not. We can have worldly “smarts” or insights, yet lack biblical wisdom. Our intelligence and emotions may mislead us, or we might not have all the information; but God — who is all-wise and already exists in our future — wants us to arrive at the right solutions and make the right choices.
Trusting in God, leaning completely on Him, is set in contrast to not leaning on our “own understanding.” What’s actually at stake is whether we are God-sufficient or self-sufficient. Certainly, each believer has God-given intellect, emotions, and abilities that are often good and helpful; but if we “lean on” them — if we depend solely on them and leave God out of the picture — we won’t tap into His wisdom. Whenever we think we are capable of fighting our battles, determining our choices, or moving forward in our strength alone, we’re on dangerous ground. We need God’s help, guidance, and power.
Two of mankind’s greatest idols are self-rule and self-reliance. The current world system promotes this by encouraging people to only listen to and act on their “personal truth.” To do so, the culture says, leads to success and happiness. But the wisdom of the world is so unlike the wisdom found in the Bible. We need to separate from anything that diverts our attention away from recognizing and honoring God, and seeking Him for guidance and the right course of action.
The problem is, those who have spiritual, emotional, and mental strengths learn over time to lean on them, which means — even though they may never express this — they have less need to lean on God. Paul wrote to the proud, worldly-wise Corinthians, “the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25). He was not suggesting that God is weak in any way. In fact, in The Message, the verse shows the word “weakness” in quotation marks. The simple truth is that if God were weak, His so-called “weakness” would infinitely surpass mankind’s puny, perceived strength. We desperately need God and His wisdom. Human wisdom simply cannot compare.
A person may believe it’s possible to be both God-sufficient and self-sufficient, but that doesn’t work. No confidence in ourselves can rightly coexist with confidence in God. Also, although God expects us to be prudent, when we seek and trust Him, we’re not to have a Plan B just in case He doesn’t come through. Only in trusting God with all our heart — wholly trusting Him in everything we do and in every detail of our lives — do we find the understanding and wisdom we need.
What Does It Mean That God Will Make Our Paths Straight?
Many Christians grew up with Bible versions of Proverbs 3:6 that say, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (nkjv). Some newer versions say, “in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (niv). Which is correct?
They both are.
Acknowledging God is not simply going to church to meet with God or turning to Him in a panic in tough circumstances. To acknowledge God is to recognize that He is the sovereign God with supreme authority over us. To submit to God means that, based on His supreme authority, we yield to Him. Submission a process of surrendering our hopes and desires to our loving Heavenly Father. He is not a tyrant. He loves us and blesses us as we obey and follow Him. As Christians, we can’t place our perceived right to understand all things and choose our own way above God’s sovereign right to govern our lives as He sees fit.
The word “submit” is the Greek word hupotasso. It was used as a military term meaning “to arrange troop divisions in a military fashion under the command of a leader.” In submitting to God, we arrange ourselves under His sovereign command. God gives those who trust in Him plenty of opportunities through the circumstances of life to learn how to submit.
Proverbs 3:6 continues the thought begun in verse five, describing or picturing what an “all your heart” kind of trust in God looks like in action. When we wholly trust in God, submit to Him and seek His will in all we do, He makes our “paths straight” or clear. Then, led by the Spirit of God, we can move forward confidently and with purpose. Solomon strongly suggested that if we don’t acknowledge the Lordship of God in our lives — if we don’t submit to Him — we can’t expect Him to lead us.
“In all your ways” means we come to God with everything. No circumstance is too small to seek His wisdom; and no problem is so big that He would ever be overwhelmed — for He is God. Through Solomon, God invites us to trust Him with anything and everything, believing that He will illuminate our way through the Word and show us the next step.
How Does This Verse Encourage Us Today?
The guiding principles in Proverbs 3:5-6 serve as a spiritual compass for God’s people. According to these verses, we all have a choice. We can either live according to our own understanding and personal preferences, or we can willingly live under God’s righteous, wise rule. To acknowledge and submit to God is radically countercultural, and Satan would have us believe the lie that we know what’s best for us and God does not.
The world has certainly become more complex, but we deal with the same heart issues our ancestors faced. Though created in the image of God and being renewed in regeneration (Genesis 1:26; Colossians 3:10), Christians still deal with a heart that’s prone to wander from God. We can either operate out of pride and self-sufficiency, or we can acknowledge the God of heaven, bow our knee to Him, and let Him take the reins of our heart.
The unspoken word in Proverbs 3:5-6 is wisdom: God’s incredible wisdom. Even when we make foolish mistakes by trusting only in ourselves — and hopefully learn from those mistakes — our Father in Heaven wisely works it all together for our good (Romans 8:28-29). He has the power to redeem the worst of our choices as He refashions us into masterpieces of grace for His glory.
God will cultivate spiritual wisdom within us as we learn to continually trust Him. Solomon encourages us to boldly place our confidence and hope in God, trusting Him with our entire being: mind, emotions, and will. His words might be paired with encouragement from the writer of Hebrews: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
In Jeremiah 9:23-24, God said, “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom … but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the lord.” This is a good complement to Proverbs 3:5-6. When we wholly submit to and trust God rather than our own wisdom, He will guide us; and we will open the door to more resilient strength, perfect peace, a more hope-filled outlook, and best of all, the blessing of a closer relationship with our Creator.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Tinnakorn Jorruang
