Being a Christian is more than saying a prayer, attending church every Sunday, and paying tithes. It’s even more than reading your Bible and being kind and forgiving to those around you. Being a Christian is a life-long dedication to following Christ in every action, thought, and word. It’s a commitment to turn our will over to the care of our loving Father and our Redeemer, laying down our lives to live for Him, just like He laid down His life that we may know Him.
Being a Christian is about trusting God, and trusting in Him to complete the good work He began in us (Philippians 1:6) through a process called Sanctification. And thanks to God for providing us with His Word, our Bible, which not only commands us to trust in Him, but lays out a foundational guideline for how to trust in the Lord.
Let’s break down Proverbs 3:5-6 and see how He instructs us to trust in Him.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
1. Trust.
The word use here for trust is the Hebrew בְּטַ֣ח (bə·ṭaḥ). It also means to have confidence in, to feel secure. We can draw from this a lack of doubt. To trust in God means to put our faith in Him. It means to believe in Him and feel secure in Him.
2. Trust with all your heart.
The Hebrew word for “all” here is בְּכָל־ (bə·ḵāl). It means the whole, each and every part of, complete, and throughout. The word for heart is לִבֶּ֑ךָ (lib·be·ḵā), which the Bible also refers to as the “inner man.” It encompasses not just the emotions but also the mind, the thoughts and intentions, the motives. Another way to say this is “trust in the Lord will the entirety of your being.” You could also say, “with each and every part of your mind and soul.” This is more than trusting that your husband won’t forget to pick up the kids after school. In fact, it’s more similar to a child trusting in his parents to pick him up. Most children wouldn’t even think twice. They depend on their parents for everything in their lives. They depend on their parents for their lives. That’s why Christ urges us to “change and become like children” (Matthew 18:3). God wants us to depend upon Him to the extent that we don’t even think about it or question it. We cry out to our Father in heaven, knowing that He will provide for us. He wants us to trust in Him with our:
a. Thoughts.
Scripture teaches us that everything in our lives begins in our thought life. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus says that “the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.” If we’re trusting in God in our thoughts and emotions, our will and motives, then the things we say and do will follow. We’ll see this explained more later in the verse.
b. Words.
Like we read from Matthew, our words indicate the state of our heart. We can’t say we trust God with our whole hearts, but cry to our friends and neighbors that we don’t know how we’ll ever make it. Additionally, when we trust in the Lord it’s unlikely that we will use our words to bring harm to others. Instead, we will want to help and heal others the way Christ healed us.
c. Actions.
Our behavior logically follows the way we think and the way we speak. True faith and trust in God is exhibited in the way we act. Just like we wouldn’t speak evil, we wouldn’t do evil, either. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their tunnel-vision for actions and deeds. He said, “First clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean” (Matthew 23:26). Jesus is saying that we must first cleanse our thoughts, our heart and our motives, and our words and actions will align with our belief.
3. Do not lean on your own understanding.
The Hebrew word translated “lean” here, תִּשָּׁעֵֽן׃ (tiš·šā·‘ên) , also means to rely on, to support oneself with, to rest in or trust. The next word we must understand is, well, “understanding,” which in Hebrew is בִּֽ֝ינָתְךָ֗ (bî·nā·ṯə·ḵā). This word also refers to knowledge, discernment, or truth. We must be careful not to miss this. It’s so easy to truly believe we are trusting in the Lord, actively and with all our hearts, when we’re not. It’s easy to miss the fact that we are, actually, relying on our own understanding. In fact, many of us rely on our own understanding of Scripture, rather than seeking God’s understanding. Let’s take a moment to consider how we can avoid leaning on our own understanding.
a. Pray.
What may seem obvious to some truly can’t be stressed enough. Prayer is our quality time with God. It’s an act of worship, and a direct line of communication. We should seek to remain in prayer at all times. Remaining active in prayer at all times we are “destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
b. Seek guidance.
Scripture instructs us again and again on the importance of engaging with other believers. Serving, counseling, guiding, and supporting one another within the body of Christ helps us all remain accountable to the body and to Christ Himself. Paul says that God has given “some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers” and, Paul says, He assigns us this work “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). In order to maintain our focus on Christ, and continue building up the body, we must seek guidance, not only from the Word of God but also from His people.
c. Read and study the Bible.
To put it simply, we can’t know what God’s will is if we don’t know what His Word says. Milton Vincent says, “Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel” (A Gospel Primer). We must take our questions and concerns directly to God. Then, we must prayerfully seek His answer through His people and His Word. And it often takes more than a quick read or topical-verse-search. We must continually read and study the Scriptures. We must research for context and connection. As my pastor says, “the best interpreter of Scripture is more Scripture.” It all intertwines, explaining and elaborating upon itself. Only by reading, re-reading, and reading again, continually and with careful attention, can we listen to God’s voice in His text.
d. Memorize Scripture.
Perhaps the most transformative tool in my life for growing in my relationship with Christ has been Scripture memorization. Colossians 3:16 tells us to “let the Word of Christ dwell in [us] richly.” Similarly, the Psalmist writes, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Through reading, studying, and memorizing Scripture, we may be “transformed by the renewing of [our] minds, so that [we] may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, emphasis mine).
4. Acknowledge Him, in all your ways.
The word used here for acknowledge, the Hebrew דָעֵ֑הוּ (ḏā·‘ê·hū), also means “to know”. It’s the same word used throughout Genesis when referring to sexual relations (4:1, 4:17, 4:25). It’s a much more intimate and involved sense of the word. We don’t want to acknowledge God as simply as we acknowledge the presence of someone passing by us in the hallway. This isn’t a coy smile and a short “hello” kind of acknowledgement. This is the kind of knowledge that comes only from reading, studying, and memorizing His Word. It comes from a complete lifestyle change. Acknowledging God in this way means making all our ways about Him. It means dying to ourselves, to live for Him (Luke 9:23-24). Remember that when we’re talking about all of our ways, we’re paying careful attention to our thoughts, words, and actions. Trusting, knowing, loving, and submitting to God is not a one-and-done event. We don’t get saved and just move on with our lives. Accepting Christ as our Savior literally changes the entire course of our lives, and our eternity. Everything we think, say, and do should profess our love for our Lord.
5. Remember who is making your paths straight.
It’s easy to fall into the common pattern of turning to God in times of need. We’ve all been guilty. We need God, so we seek Him. He makes our paths straight, so we forget we need Him, and we turn away. We mustn’t forget the One who straightened our path for us. If we had the capacity to live correctly, we wouldn’t have need for a Savior. A few key points help us to remember our need for God:
a. Stay humble before God and before others.
In American society especially, we tend to view the world as a movie of our own making. And commonly we see ourselves as the main character. This is precisely the problem. Our life is not our own. Christ is the main character of each of our stories. He lived, died, and rose again so that we could put on His righteousness, live for Him, and have eternal life with Him. With this proper perspective, we can begin taking things less seriously. Keeping our focus on Him, and His sacrifice for us, we can “regard one another as more important than [ourselves]” (Philippians 2:3).
b. Remember that everything comes from God.
When we have a proper view of God, remaining humble gets a little easier. Paul gives us plenty of insight on this. In Romans 11:33-35 Paul says, “Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him, that it would be paid back to Him?” Paul continues in verse 36 that “from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things.” Which leads us to our final point.
c. Nothing is given to us that didn’t first come from God.
John says something similar to Paul. John 1:3 tells us, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.” We all know that “in the beginning, God created” (Genesis 1:1). Everything else is, well, history. Not a single thing in our lives belongs to us, truly. It all comes from God. And once we realize this, we can give Him proper credit for our lives. Once we realize this, we can let go of the reigns and let Him steer our paths.
It’s frighteningly easy to miss how much God does for us. And when we do that, we take for granted just how much we need Him. We lose our childlike trust in Him. But our God is a loving and faithful Father. He provided us with a manual to remind us of our need, to highlight His promises, and to instruct us on how to live and how to trust in the Lord. We need only turn to Him every day, in every way, and with everything. If we put our faith fully in Him, He is faithful and just to provide us with everything we need. And, Scripture says, “to do far more abundantly all that we ask of think, according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Be sure to read our last post, Trusting in the Lord, and our Romans 8:28 Explanation
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Emily is a Christian mother and blogger who lives in sunny Florida with her three children. She works full-time setting appointments at a home remodeling company and in her scarce free time she enjoys serving her fellow brothers and sisters in Christ however possible, and spending as much time in prayer, Bible reading and studying, and fellowship as possible. As a recovering addict, she has a heart for addiction ministry, and for creating things so she can give back to those who have need.