Trust in the LORD (Part 2)

Proverbs 3:5-7

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”

I was planning on doing the next two verses together, because I couldn't really think of much to write about for verse six. But as I began writing, God just kept showing me more and more in the verse.

“In all thy ways acknowledge him,”

I looked up the definition of the word acknowledge.

“accept or admit the existence or truth of”

As Christians, God commands us to acknowledge him in ALL our ways. Every single one of them. Whenever something happens or doesn’t happen in our lives, whether for good or for bad, we should be ready to admit that God is in control and there is a reason for everything. Notice that the verse doesn’t say to acknowledge him only when something good happens. No, we need to acknowledge him in everything, even when something doesn’t go the way we want it to. Because God is here right here with us, and knows what is going on and either orchestrated it himself or allowed it. As stated in the last part of the verse:

“and he shall direct thy paths.”

That word “and” is very important. It connects the first part of verse 6 with the second part to make it one whole thought. To me, it almost seems like a conditional statement. When we acknowledge God in our lives, then he will move in and direct us and show us where to go. If we don’t acknowledge God, then we lean on our own understanding, and think it’s up to us. How can we let God direct us if we’re not even going to acknowledge him in our lives in the first place?

Now what does it mean when it says “he shall direct”? Directions tell you where to go and how to get there. A friend might give you directions as to how to get to a park or restaurant. But the thing with directions is that you don’t have to follow them. Your friend isn't forcing you to go the way he's telling you to go. If you choose so, you can go another route; but at your risk of getting lost. So when the verse says God will direct us, it’s saying he will show us the way that we should go. But it is up to us as to whether we will listen to God and follow him. He will not force us to go his way. And like I said earlier, if we’re not going to admit God is in our lives, how can he direct us? If you don’t think your friend knows the way to the restaurant, how can he tell you where to go? We must acknowledge God in our lives if we want his direction.

Now just because we don’t acknowledge God, doesn’t mean he isn’t there. Proverbs 10:24 states:

“Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?”

God is going to be working in our lives, whether we want him to or not. But he can’t personally give us direction unless we are willing to see him there, and realize he is in control.

Finally, the verse states “and he shall direct our PATHS”. For the longest time, I thought it was just “path”, singular. But when I realized the verse says "paths" in the plural, it got me thinking. We have multiple paths? Once I realized that, so many paths became evident to me. The path of health. The path of finances. The path of spiritual growth. The paths friendships, marriage, parenting, school, hobbies, and careers. There are so many paths, and different people have different ones. God wants to direct each one of them. You see, God isn’t going to just direct the broad path of life for us. He’s going to go deeper, into specifics. He wants to be a part of each little area of our lives.

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Will we acknowledge God and let him show us his will for our lives?