Proverbs 3:5-6 are great verses to live by. Many Christians discover them early in their Christian walk, and find that these verses resonate with a great challenge to remember that He, and He alone, is the Lord of all our ways. These verses orient our minds in a grand and wonderful way. They point to God.
The verses start with God. The arrow is firmly fixed toward Him. He is the object of our trust. The word trust, in this passage refers to security. Its used in a number of passages to describe the emotional experience of confident peace and the intellectual understanding that one is safe. For example, Leviticus 25:18-19 describes the experience of living in confidence and safety in the land, because God is protecting the people. For many years we have lived in confident safety and peace in our nation, because we believed in God. We, as a nation, watched with confident eyes as wars unfolded and passed in the world at large. Even in two world wars, for the most part, we felt safe and confident here in our land, secured by two vast oceans. Only when the cold war came were we shown that because of ICBM’s, such a confidence was false. The horrors of September 11 showed us that our ocean borders cannot keep out evil people who want to work us harm.
Real security is with God. This verse reminds us that we are to find our security in God. Everything else we trust in, whether it is personal strength, the protection of human beings, even the confidence that comes from a steady paycheck are an illusion.
We are also told that this trust must be “with all our heart.” In the Hebrew mindset, the heart was the seat of the will. We are told that in every aspect of all of our choices, we must find our security in the Lord. We are people who find it easy to “compartmentalize.” We tell ourselves that we can trust God for our church growth, but not for our financial success. We say silly things like, “If its to be, its up to me!” That’s not trusting God with our whole heart. We speed on the highway when we are late for our appointment. We trust our right foot and driving skill more than we trust God. We fret and panic when we are told we may lose our job. We trust our paycheck more than God. The Bible tells us that even in these things, finding our security in God comes first.
How about the politics of our relationships. Do we trust in our cleverness in regard to these things? In our ability to reason out, or manipulate, more than we trust in God? Where is our security here? Do we pray about all these things? The second half of verse 5 reminds us that we are not to lean on our own understanding. The action of leaning echoes the act of trust in the first half. When we lean on a fence or a staff, we trust and find secure what we are leaning on. This verse reminds us that our understanding is not a safe and secure place of confident trust. Only God is. Why? Because our understanding is flawed. We do not have all the information. What information we have is often distorted by own biases. God is more worthy of our trust than our poor pool of limited knowledge.
Verse 6 reminds us to know God in all our ways. It includes the idea of “tipping our hat to the Deity.” He is the master of our ways, and this verse reminds us that is an important part of living our lives. Yet it is more than that at the same time. Its learning to discern Him in the ways we take. It’s looking for the signs of His presence to make sure we are walking the right path. It is also submitting to Him when it comes to asking Him which path is best.
Whew, great stuff! Isn’t that enough? But look at the next verse. Sometimes looking at the same actions from a different direction help to understand what exactly is being called for. Take for example a basketball coach teaching his players. He might tell them, “When you pass the ball, pass it crisply.” He demonstrates the action with a quick pass to one of his students. But that is not all. He also demonstrates what he does not want, so his charges understand what is called for. So coach then adds, “Don’t lob the ball, like so,” and he shows the action he does not want. He then lobs the ball, which everyone present knows can easily be intercepted.
Verse 7 is therefore vital for us, and is equally worthy of memorization. “Do not be wise in your own eyes…” Just as we are to find our security, safety and confidence in the Lord, and just as we are not to lean on our own flawed understanding, we need to be very careful not to think we have life all figured out. Wisdom is an endless pursuit. And even those who are wiser than ourselves, if they are truly far along on the path of wisdom, do well when they remember that they are not yet truly wise! As soon as we begin to buy into the idea that maybe we really are wise, we have begun to leave the path of wisdom, and become capable of all kinds of folly. Why? Because we begin to believe that the secrets of life are ours, we and we can navigate as well will, without fear of consequences...After all, we can surely navigate around even those! At least that is what we tell ourselves.
Add to this the fear of God and turning away from evil. Here again we see the mirroring that God is using to teach us what He wants of us. We are to fear God. He is the one who can discipline us. And discipline can be very painful! 2 Corinthians 7 points out that the fear of God completes Holiness in us! If we want to be Holy, then the fear of God MUST color all of our actions and choices. Our behavior must be impacted by the consciousness that there is a God who holds us accountable. Turn away from evil is the mirror that reminds us to be aware of our surroundings and our choices, and to choose the good over the evil. It tells us to engage in the psychological act of turning our backs on temptation, wrong thoughts, and evil habits. It reminds us that repentance is a daily act. It reminds us that the past is in the past, and that there is a new start everyday.
Trusting God and leaning not on our understanding is very important. But verse 7 reminds us that God is to be feared as well, and that we also do well when we remember that wisdom will never really be fully ours this side of glory. So if you have committed Proverbs 3:5-6 to memory, consider adding verse 7 to your arsenal as well.
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