With All Your Heart

Let’s be honest, we often want the best outcome without putting in the work. We want to lose weight without exercise and proper diet. We want to become skilled musicians without investing the needed hours of practice time. These scenarios remind me of one of the most quoted passages of scripture in our Christian culture, Proverbs 3:5-7. It says to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (NKJV). These verses require us to put in the work first, then we’ll see the desired outcome. We’re asked to trust with all of our hearts, lean not on our own understanding, and acknowledge Him in all of our ways.  Once we do those things He will give us clarity and direct our paths. I, too, am guilty of wanting results without putting in the work. I often want God to direct my path, without fully trusting Him with all my heart. But, there is a reason for us to follow the template outlined in these verses. Let me explain. 

According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, here are a few definitions of trust. Trust means to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of, to place confidence in, or to hope and expect confidently. Putting our trust in the Lord means that we are fully relying on God’s nature and character. It means we are putting more emphasis on who God is than what we may be experiencing. We are saying “I know that this situation looks bleak right now, but I believe that God is good and He is faithful. I don’t know how this will turn out, but I know because of who God is, it will turn out for my good.” Are you able to trust in or have confidence in the Lord with all your heart? If not, what things may be keeping you from that kind of trust?

The verse also says that we are not to lean on our own understanding. Our own understanding is extremely limited. Our own understanding is no match for the depths of God’s wisdom. Our own understanding can only take us so far. Our own understanding can block us from truly trusting in God with all our heart. So, where are you leaning? On your own understanding, ways, and strength? You must learn to lean on God, His truth, and His character.

The last command in this verse is to acknowledge Him in all our ways. Acknowledging God in all our ways means to live in such a way that those things we say, do, or think point us toward Him and reflect His nature. That includes anything from the way we talk to the grocery store clerk who seems to be ringing up our items slower than any clerk in clerk history, to how we raise our children or interact with our spouses. It goes from the way we talk to our co-workers to the way we file our taxes with integrity. This also includes the way we make major personal, business, or financial decisions. It means we submit everything our lives entail to His guidance and direction. So, my final question is, in all of your ways are you acknowledging anything or anyone more than Him?

God is deserving of our trust. He is perfect in all His ways and cannot make a mistake. His intentions towards us are pure and righteous. Now is a perfect time to evaluate where we are placing our trust and who or what we are relying on. Let’s evaluate our hearts so that our paths are directed by the One who is worthy of our wholehearted trust.