Proverb 3:5

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;”

There are a lot of things that I don’t understand. My comprehension is finite and yet, I treat it as though it has no end. I rely on my  miniature slice of understanding in the grand pie of knowledge and truth. How little I know and how deeply I rely on that small portion, as though it were without fault. 

But my thoughts are fragile and there is far greater depths of truth and knowledge to explore. 

Unfortunately, I am apt to dig stubborn heels into moist earth, insisting, demanding my way, according to what I “know”, instead of plunging into the depths of what really is.

It’s difficult for me to trust anything outside that sliver of understanding that I occupy. Because I know that people lie. They break promises. They betray one another. Death is real. Heartache is abundant. Things are not in my control, and so I try all the more to control them. 

Moreover, I betray myself. I lie to myself, cheat myself, sabotage myself and shortchange myself, feeding the cyclone that hovers over our world and sweeps people up in weightless insecurity.

And all the while I ache for security, crave it deep within my soul. 

There is one who provides it, in the event I will trust. Not just by saying that I trust what he says, but by actually trusting him with the very heart he fashioned inside my chest. Turning over my dreams, my desires, my hopes and fears and uncertainties to his care.

The Proverb seems to suggest that you can’t do one without the other. I can’t trust in Him if I’m leaning on my own understanding. Because His ways are far beyond mine. I cannot fathom them. So if I rely on my own rationale, I can’t trust Him because he will never be restricted to the fallible template I’ve created.

But if I lean on his understanding, I cannot help but trust. Because His ways and His truth are the most secure place in the world. Safer than the embrace of a parent. Cozier than the bed that provided warmth and comfort on fearful sleepless nights. Lovelier than the coral sky behind a setting sun and more hopeful than the dawn. 

Trust in His ways. Do not lean on your own understanding. Rest securely in the place that was custom-designed just for you, safely beneath the shelter of His wings (Psalm 61:4)!