DEVOTION – DAY 396

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust In The Lord”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “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 verses are well known. The Psalmist encourages everyone to trust in the Lord, just like the Israelites did in ancient times, and God rescued them repeatedly. Their trust would be total – with all their heart, just like Caleb and King Hezekiah who trusted in God’s help completely. For them, there was never any backup plan. The Psalmist also encourages everyone to submit to God. By that, he meant that we are to be always mindful of God. We are to serve Him with a willing, faithful and obedient heart. When we do that, God will remove the obstacles that stands in our way and bring us to our planned goal. Thus, if we want to achieve what we set out to do, goals that are in accordance to God’s will for us, then, we must be willing to submit our plans and ourselves to God fully.

I once answered God’s call to start a new ministry. I had to depend totally on God for His help because I have few resources of my own. I had practically no co-workers and I needed a group of committed people to join me to start the ministry. I submitted all my plans to the Lord in prayer. But I met many obstacles and along the way, some people who said they would be my fellow co-workers changed their mind. I began to become impatient and allowed doubts to cause me to think maybe I was not meant to start this new ministry. That was when I began to lean on my own understanding. 

I remembered these verses and decided to continue to pray and to trust that God’s timing is always better than mine. After some months, the Lord opened doors for me and I managed to get sufficient co-workers to join me to begin the work. Eventually, the work began and it soon progressed. Looking back, I realized that God knew just when we could get started. We couldn’t get started earlier because we just did not have enough co-workers and it would have affected the ministry if we started without adequate manpower. When the main building blocks were in place, God did remove the obstacles and make our paths straight. There is indeed great wisdom in these verses to trust God with all our hearts and to submit all our ways to Him.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You are Almighty, All powerful. Omnipresent Living God. Please help us to always trust in you, and to submit all our ways and plans to you for your glory. We humbly pray this in the gracious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. How has God come to your assistance in the past when you trusted in Him and not on your own understanding? Share.
  2. Why is it important that we do not lean on our own understanding but to trust completely in the Lord? Discuss.
  3. What are you facing at the moment that requires you to trust in the Lord and to submit all your ways to Him?