"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;" Proverbs 3:5
We know the Lord loves us with an absolute and unconditional love. He is consistent. When we know someone only wants the best for us and we know they will always stand with us we can trust them. We don't just trust them in the good times but we also trust them in the bad. As the old hymn says,
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Lean On God
We can't "lean on our own understanding" because what understanding do we really have? We can't see the end result of our actions. We can't see all of the lives we touch. We can't understand the ways of the people around us. To lean on something means to use it as a support when times are hard. We lean on a friend's arm to comfort us, we lean on a crutch when we are injured, we lean on a handrail to support us and so we are to lean, not on our so-called understanding of the world around us, but lean on God.
Acknowledge God
According to Proverbs 3:6, if we acknowledge God He will direct our lives. We should acknowledge God at work in our lives because we know His presence is near and His hand is on us, even if we can't always feel it or see it. We acknowledge blessings even in the difficult times. Our prayer should be that God's will be done in our lives every day. When we do this, He WILL direct our paths. In Isaiah 48:17, God says, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go."
Still Waters
We want to be on God's path because it is described as restful. It isn't stress filled and anxiety laden. It isn't full of worry. In Psalm 23: 2(b), we are told that "He will lead me beside still waters." The Hebrew word for still waters is, "Mai Menochot" which means literally "restful waters". Our Shepherd wants to guide us to a place of confidence, trust and rest where we can rely totally on Him. We mustn't confuse this path with one that is trouble free. Yes, there will be problems and troubles, but He will bring us through them and keep us on the right path.
God's Gift Of Wisdom
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Proverbs 3: 7
It's certainly a good thing to be wise, but we also need to be able to acknowledge our shortcomings and realize that wisdom is a gift from God, not something we can have on our own. We aren't supposed to view ourselves as wise. Compared to God's wisdom ours is but a shadow. We can be wise, but it must be in humility.
How do we gain wisdom? The first step David tells us in Psalm 111:10, is to "fear the Lord." If we are wise, we will "fear the Lord" and we will "depart from evil." We have to have a healthy respect for the Lord to want to do good and leave evil behind. We know that God is love, but also, He is a God who is a just judge.
When we have wisdom, it helps us to understand what the will of God for our lives is. Ephesians 5:17 warns us not to be unwise. He emphasizes understanding the will of God. James describes someone who has the wisdom of God in James 3:17.
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."
In verses 14-16 James explains how worldly wisdom is quite different. Worldly wisdom is envious, self-seeking and causes confusion. This wisdom is from the devil.
A Wise Woman
What does a wise person look like? One of the great examples of a wise person in the Bible is found in Proverbs 31: 10-31. In this passage is described a woman who fears the Lord and who opens her mouth with wisdom. She is resourceful, hardworking, a provider for her family, a help to those in need and prepared for the future. She is a blessing to her husband and to those around her. Her wisdom comes from her relationship with God.
Fear The Lord
When Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes it is believed that he was close to the end of his life. He was given the gift of wisdom, but squandered it, and instead lived a mostly foolish life. In the end though as he looked back on his many failures, he had this to say.
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14
How can God truly direct our paths if we do not fear Him? Solomon says this is man's all to Fear the Lord and obey Him.
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