Trust In, Lean Not On

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.  Proverbs 3:3-6

Solomon, instructs us that wisdom is rooted in sound teaching and rests its trust in God, and Him alone. And the results are a reward to those who whole heartedly obey God’s written word and obey it. While at times wisdom demands chastening, it brings profound benefits and it’s value is a heritage to future generations. The virtues of mercy (the Hebrew word for loving-kindness and loyal love) and truth that come from God’s character are to become a part of us—outwardly in our behavior for all to see as part of a Christ-like adornment of spiritual beauty that comes from spending time with God, and in the reading and meditating of His Word. And such evidence of inward and outward transformation is seen in the New Testament Covenant of salvation (Jeremiah 31:33-34). This new heart is given to us through the finished work of the cross. Whereby Christ has taken our place and paid the price in full for our sin-debt which we could never repay. Cleverly stated: Christ, paid a debt for which He did not owe, for us who owe a debt for which we could not pay. Now today, we live in a very tolerate age, and unfortunately, our tolerance level has become very high. We’ve been taught to become very tolerate of evil. But what we are really lacking is need for a hatred towards evil. Paul wrote in Romans 12, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good (v.9), and this is to be the behavior of a Christian. Yet, to live in this manner, you’ll become the ridicule of every liberal supporter, and be labeled as narrow-minded in your thinking. Yet, the Scriptures we are to follow are very clear, The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way. And the perverse mouth I hate  (Proverbs 8:13).

So we learn that Wisdom from the Bible, hates what God hates. The highest virtue for man is humility (submission to God), and thus wisdom hates pride and arrogance (self-exaltation) above all. If I am to fellowship with God, I must hate evil. I am not to tolerate evil in my life if I am to have true fellowship with God. So the fear of the Lord is the summation of knowledge about God, but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).

So how can I know the will of God? A question so often asked. Well, what we read are three steps: Trust in the Lord, with all your heart. Second: Lean not on your own understanding. Three: In all your ways acknowledge Him. The result is? He shall direct your path.  Jesus said, He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad (Matthew 12:30) Meaning to be undecided is to be decided. There will be no fence riders in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said to us that we ought to count the cost to be His disciple, that we should go all the way in our commitment to Him, or basically don’t come at all. When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 9:34-35) So to what extent am I to follow after Christ? Or why is it so necessary that I deny myself?  Jesus, knowing all things in a person’s life, knows also what our hearts will covet after, and what will possibly destroy our commitment to Him. To have a view of being tolerate of what His Word describes as evil, is not denying ourselves, and is not what a true disciple of Christ would allow in their lives.

A good example of trust we read about is the story of the Centurion’s servant who is healed by Jesus. It’s found in the gospel of Luke chapter 7: And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, for he loves our nation and has built a synagogue (vv.2-5). The Roman centurions were special men. They are mentioned several times in Scripture, and always in a favorable way. But it is the response of this particular centurion soldier that gives us a glimpse of his faith and trust in the Lord. Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think of myself as worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed (vv.6-7). Note some of the very first words out of the centurions mouth: “I am not worthy,” even though the elders of the Jews might of thought so, this humble Roman soldier did not think of himself as even worthy to come to Jesus . During this time, it was unlawful for a Jew to enter the home of a Gentile. He knew as Jesus was drawing near, that He, Jesus, would be causing a commotion among the people if He came into his home. And through this comes a remarkable statement of faith and trust: He said to Jesus, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” For he understood authority, and he knew that Jesus had the authority of God.

Beloved friend, While this passage makes a great example of faith and trust in the Lord, It is also clear that the need was urgent. Do we always have to wait until the need in our lives is desperately urgent, before we turn to the Lord? What we can learn from the trusting in the Lord with all of our heart, and leaning not on our own understanding is, that this is way of life for every believer day by day. It is to plan ahead, but to always yield to the will of God in your life. As you grow in your relationship with God, your trust will be strengthened in Him. If it needs to be tested with trial, just know that God always has good plans for your life that will build you up in character and virtuous power over the sinful things of this world.

May the Lord bless your walk with Him!

Author: rontrujillo

Married 37 years We have six children. All of whom are adult. Three are married one of them blessed us with three beautiful grandchildren. Retired Firefighter @ Boeing Aircraft 37 years (Formally McDonnell Douglas) Born Again Summer of 1981 View all posts by rontrujillo