Leaning The Right Way! Proverbs 3:5, 6

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(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

Our featured Scripture is Proverbs 3:6 and 7: “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.” And in the last Gem, we spent some time on “…lean not on your own under- standing…”, that is, leaning the wrong way! Now let’s see what this proverb says about leaning the right way!

Let’s put the first and last parts of the proverb together: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart…in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

•    “Trust in the LORD...” – We are to trust in the LORD with 
     our whole being – with all our heart, with all our soul, 
     with all our mind, and with all our strength! But what 
     does it mean to trust the LORD? In The New Scofield 
     Reference Bible, annotates Psalm 2:12. The verse closes
     Psalm 2 with this: “Blessed are all they who put their 
     trust in Him [the King enthroned in Jerusalem – Jesus 
     Christ].” The annotation of the word trust reads thus:
          Trust is the characteristic O.T. word for the 
          N.T. “faith” and “believe.” It occurs 152 times 
          in the O.T., and is the rendering of the Hebrew 
          words signifying to take refuge...to lean on...
          to roll on...[and] to wait for....
     Perhaps we could say that trust is to have faith enough to 
     act upon what you have faith in! That is trusting in God 
     with our whole being!

But why should we trust God? Because He has proved to be trust-worthy!

         The testimony of His saints, written centuries
           ago, or of today, especially those who have
           walked with Jesus for a long time, testify to
           His trustworthiness, His faithfulness. I have
           been a Christian for 55 years and, although I
           have let myself down many times, the Lord has
           never failed in being faithful to me! I know
           I can trust Him!
     ✞     The testimony of His Word shines forth the truth
           of God being trustworthy! It is not just the re-
           cord of His work to and through Bible aints. That
           Record is a living Word (see Hebrews 4:12), able
           to increase our faith and trust! (See Romans 10:
           17).

Notice there are two ‘all s in this short two-verse proverb:

•     “...with all your heart...” – In both Old and New 
      Testaments we find this phrase up to 29 times, de-
      pending upon the Bible version. The first one that 
      might come to mind is the Great Commandment found 
      in...
Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the LORD 
           your God with all your heart, with all your 
           soul, and with all your might.Mark 12:30 – “...you shall love the LORD your 
           God with all your heart, with all your soul, 
           with all your mind, and with all your strength.” 

While Jesus adds strength to the equation, both references of 
the Great Commandment promote the idea that we are to love God
with our whole being, both...

      ✞     the inner selfheart, soul, and mind, and...

      ✞     the outer self strength.
•    “…in all your ways…” – This is everything that comes out 
     of our mind, heart, soul, and strength – everything out 
     of our whole being – every thought, word, and action!
•    “…acknowledge Him…” – It sounds like a nodding acquaintance,
     to just acknowlege Him. Far from it! Acknowledge in Hebrew 
     is ידע (pronounced yaw-dah’). There are so many definitions 
     for the word in Greek dictionaries, it might help if we 
     listed how other Bible versions translate it:
In all your ways give ear to Him...” 
           (Bible in Basic English).

Always let Him lead you...” 
           (Contemporary English Version).

     In all your ways think on Him...” 
           (1899 Douay-Rheims Bible).

With every step you take, think about what 
           He wants...” (Easy-to-Read Version).

     Remember the LORD in everything you do...” 
           (Good News Bible).

     In all thy ways know thou Him...” 
           (1898 Young’s Literal Translation). 

Realizing God is with us in everything we do, say, or think, we must not lean on our own understanding (see the last Gem), but we must instead let Him lead us…

•     “…and He shall direct your paths.” There are many paths 
      we might take, but only one right way! That one is the 
      One! For Jesus said in Matthw 7:13 and 14:
           Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate 
           and broad is the way that leads to destruction, 
           and there are many who go in by it. Because 
           narrow is the gate and difficult is the way 
           which leads to life, and there are few who 
           find it.  

      That broad way is the wrong way, comprised of the many 
      ways people try to connect with God.  But they all lead 
      to destruction! (See Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).  The narrow 
      gate is Jesus, the only right way!  As He said in John 
      10:10, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one 
      comes to the Father except through Me.

Follow Proverbs 3:5 and 6! You will not go wrong!