“Trusting God is primarily a response of the heart.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – September 5, 2024
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, NIV
By nature, I’m a fairly academic and intellectual person. I see great value in education and have pursued knowledge in one form or another for most of my adult life. This love of knowledge can find a formalized expression, such as the pursuit of a degree, but also extends to everyday experiences, such as a greater knowledge of how to maintain a home or a deeper understanding of economics or politics. Simply put, I often assume that knowledge is the same as understanding.
The more knowledge we have, the more we are tempted to rely upon it as our ultimate guide for life. This is true in countless areas, such as our knowledge of a healthy diet or knowledge of physical fitness, but it even extends to our life with God. I have multiple theological degrees and have spent years of my life studying the Bible and Christianity throughout the ages. While this can be good, it also can create a chasm between me and the Lord, where I only relate to him through my knowledge about him, which, of course, is a poor substitute for a living relationship with a living person.
In part, this tendency to trust in knowledge and facts is appealing because it is safe. Emotions and feelings are wild and unpredictable, uneasily tamed or controlled. They also are often untrustworthy, leading us down a path we should never go. While all of this may be true, wisdom invites us into a balanced life that keeps a place at the table for knowledge and understanding, but likewise, it fans into flame a heart that is aglow with love for God. As Proverbs 3 famously says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
Trusting God is primarily a response of the heart. It is an acknowledgment that our actions are motivated by our desires and passions; thus, these must be submitted to his will and redirected toward his perfect path. Resist the temptation to trust in your knowledge about God, and instead learn to fan into flame the embers of your heart, that the whole of your being may know and abide in the goodness of God and discover the joy of walking with him “in all your ways.”
Prayer
Father, teach us to trust in you with all of our hearts, and keep us from ever relying simply upon our own understanding or knowledge about you, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
What does it look like for you in this season to “trust in the Lord with all your heart?”
Related Reading
Psalm 56:3-4; Isaiah 26:3-4; Jeremiah 17:7-8
Worship Resource
Pat Barrett feat. Cory Asbury: Build My Life
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