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PROGRAM D-8043
If someone offered you advice that was guaranteed to help you, to give you a better life, and to win you favor with people, would you be willing to take their advice? That’s exactly what we find in Proverbs in the Bible. Proverbs is full of very practical and powerful advice, if you and I will simply know and live by its principles. I’m sharing five lessons for living from Proverbs 3, and the third one is found in verses 5 and 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. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
This is one of the more familiar passages from Proverbs and it gives us such an important lesson for living our lives. There are three things you need to do:
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
- Lean not on your own understanding;
- In all your ways submit to the Lord.
This is a lesson I have to learn again and again because I am prone to trust in myself or someone else, instead of trusting in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord means you simply believe that his word is true, his promises never fail, and his plans for you are the best. You trust in good times and in bad times; you trust when things are going well and when you can’t understand what’s happening, or why. You trust with all your heart. And in order to have this kind of trust, you have to know God well through his word, prayer, and fellowship with other believers.
Next, you need to learn to be skeptical about your own understanding—your own wisdom. We are often influenced by the world’s way or by other people, and what looks like a good idea can be a disaster. God’s ways are frequently not our ways, so don’t put your trust in your own abilities or experience.
Finally, you must submit to the Lord in every decision you make. Seek first his way. Who do you go to first when you need help or advice? Seek first the Lord and submit to his ways. When you do, your way will be clear and straight, not taking you down the wrong road.
I encourage you to put this passage in your heart and recite it often. It is one of the most important lessons for living that you will ever know.