Proverbs 3: A Lesson in Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6 are probably some of the most famous verses in all the Bible. These life-giving words are printed on mugs, t-shirts, magnets, and bumper stickers. And, because these words are so visible, they’re easy for me to neglect—they’ve lost some of the sweetness they once had. It’s as if I think I have a license to gloss over them because I have these verses memorized. Sadly, I don’t sit and dig into them like I once did.

I am confident that I’m not alone in this, so I want to take these verses line by line and see what God wants to say to us through them. Whether you’ve heard these a million times before or this is your first time, let’s sit with them and see what we discover!

What does it mean to trust?

Trust is an area in which I’ve struggled for many years because self-protection is one of my top priorities. Due to past hurts, I give myself out selectively and sparingly. I rarely depend on anyone other than myself and there are few people in whom I put my whole confidence.

I even allowed this habit to color my view of God. I’ve been disappointed by people, so it’s easy for me to expect to be disappointed by God. I’ve lived through things like abuse and neglect, and for many years, I was sure that God would treat me the same way. I’ve been lied to, even by people who had beautiful intentions, so it can be difficult for me to trust the truthfulness of God. Thankfully He is patient with me as I’m slowly learning to believe Him. He doesn’t stand around with arms crossed, tapping His foot at me with a scowl on his face. Instead, He calmly and kindly invites me closer, celebrating the small victories in my life.

The truth is that our hearts were created to trust God. We were made to be in lock-step with Him, following Him, not out of obligation but out of a loving and healthy relationship. We are limited, finite human beings who were made to depend on Him. He doesn’t fail. He doesn’t break our confidence. He doesn’t abandon or betray us. He is worthy of our trust.

Trusting God with all of our hearts, not just specific compartments, is how we were made to live. And I believe every day is an invitation from God to do just that. If we’ve done a poor job of loving God with all our hearts in the recent past, that’s okay, today’s a brand new start and a fresh invitation to trust Him more deeply. This is a life-long learning experience and one that God is pleased to walk with us.

What does “trust” mean to you?

How can you trust God a little more today than you did yesterday?

To go Deeper: Read Learning to Lie Down, Sweet, Simple, Human Reminders

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