Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
The questions of life puzzle us and call for answers. The perplexing issues of life confront us and need resolutions. The problems of life trouble us and demand solutions. Where will we look for the answers, the resolutions, and the solutions? What source of information will we find reliable, giving us peace about the directions we take?
We need to know who we should befriend. We need to know where we should go to school. We need to know who we should marry. A decision must be made as to where we should live and what career we should embark upon. How shall we vote in the next election? Who shall we trust in business?
Since God has made us reasoning creatures, we should search for evidence to guide the process, but our verse for today says that we should not lean only on our rational understanding. In the final analysis, we should trust the Lord and lean on Him. Our rational understanding should provide us with the possibilities and the implications, but our faith should provide us with the answers. For example, King David saw with his own understanding the need for a permanent house for the worship of God, but when Nathan the prophet came back to him with a word from the Lord to wait and let Solomon do it, David submitted to that. He trusted God’s word.
The second half of this proverb reveals the basis of our trust. Verse six tells us to acknowledge God’s rulership over all that happens. When we do this, we will recognize his direction of our steps. Then we can thank Him and praise Him for his faithful guidance.
By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International
