Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6
These are familiar verses for many of us. I call them my “life verses” because they sum up the life I am striving to live.
Trust has always been difficult for me. We’ve all been hurt by people, some more than others. We are all wounded and dysfunctional. We all fell in the Garden of Eden. It is in our nature to sin. The only One we can trust without hesitation or question is the Lord God who made us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He has a plan for our individual lives. He loves us more than any human being possibly can, and His love is unfailing.
Even knowing all this, we have to make a decision to trust Him in every circumstance, even when things seem to be falling apart. Even when the world seems to be falling apart. We see only part of what is happening around us. God sees the whole picture. He knows the beginning, middle, and end. We can be assured He has our best interests at heart, that He will not make a mistake and lead us into temptation or allow evil to reign over our minds and hearts—if we depend on Him.
We seek His ways because our ways lead us to destruction. We are naturally bent to sin. We want to be the god of our lives, to sit on our thrones and do what we please. We see the results around us every day. Even when we want to do good, there is selfishness and pride mixed in, contaminating and corrupting our efforts. Only God can show us which path to take.
God makes it very clear what He wants from us. His message is straightforward from Genesis to Revelation. Believe Him. Believe in Jesus, His Son, who died to pay for our sins. Do what is right. Love mercy. Walk humbly before God. Yes, we mess up—all the time. But by His amazing grace, through faith, we are saved.
Simple instructions, difficult to live out, and we can only do so through the strength and power of almighty God through the Holy Spirit given to us by Jesus Christ.
Do you want to have an abundant life of purpose, a life of joy even in the midst of trials?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
Words to live by.