“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
In Proverbs 3:5-6 Solomon tells us of two ways we can live our lives. The first path is the path of faith and trust in God. It is characterized by the verse “the just shall live by faith”. the wisest man in the world tells us what God also tells us – this is the wise way. Yet living by faith has a caveat. It requires that we trust God with our whole heart. That means we trust everything to God – our decisions, our
circumstances, our feelings, our careers, our wealth, our
possessions and our futures to God. All is an absolute word
that is essential if we are to “present our bodies a living sacrifice,
wholly acceptable to God.”
Path 2 – The Double Minded Man Solomon tells us there is a danger that will cause us to stray from Path 1. In fact this becomes a way of life for many people. It is the path of the person who is fearful of turning his life over to God completely. Solomon addresses this lifestyle and makes it plain that this way is the diametrical opposite of the life of faith.
Lean not Strong’s Concordance states “In ancient Near Eastern cultures, the concept of leaning or relying on something was deeply connected to trust and faithfulness. Physical leaning was a common metaphor for dependence and support,” Leaning mean to throw oneself on another for support. We count on that person for success. Thus leaning is committing oneself to another. Solomon tells us to examine who we are depending on for our support.
On your own understanding The wisest man in the world hits the key issue. We all have a great desire to know why. Employees do not like to follow their bosses order; children do not like to obey their parents because they do not understand. By definition understanding is not a part of faith. We know God’s character but we cannot understand His ways. Isaiah tells us this truth. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
Solomon knows (and scripture tells us) that relying on our own understanding will lead us astray. Proverbs 16:25 tells us “There is
a way that seems right, to a man but in the end thereof is death.” Remember Solomon is writing to believers. We can trust God by
faith for salvation but then refuse to trust Him to lead us in our lives. James tells us that trying to do both – trust in God and lean on our own understanding makes a man doubleminded. That way will produce a man unstable in ALL his ways.
What can we learn? One of the things we see is that one of our greatest enemies to walking by faith is our own desire to be in charge or our own lives. Trusting in the Lord with all our heart means we give up our right to understand. God’s right to lead us and to direct our lives according to His will becomes paramount to us. When we
insist on God always making sense to our finite minds, we put ourselves on a path contrary to faith in God, one that leads to grief and sorrow. God warns us. “God gave them the desires of their heart ad sent leanness to their soul.” Solomon tells us not to count on. rely on ourselves – to depend on what we see, on our own decision and on our own desires to guide us. That is always the wrong way!