Proverbs 3:5-8
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
I recently wrote about trusting God instead of giving in to fear. Today let's talk about trusting God when we have problems to solve.
It's not enough to simply try and figure things out. When you run into a problem, whether it's professional or personal, a solution is always required, and that solution nearly always includes some sort of action on your part (even if that means actively keeping your damn mouth shut).
You are going to have problems and difficulties in your life. Many of them (if my experience is typical) will be self inflicted. Getting through those difficulties will, at times, be hard. You might have a conflict at work or with family that needs to be navigated, or you might need to change something in your life like finding a new job or moving across the country (or even to a new one).
Let's break down how I use this passage as my map to trusting and following God through my difficulties. Understand that I don't always do this, but when I do, that's when my problems get taken care of, and when I don't I go into a worry spiral and the problem usually takes a lot longer to get through.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
You are not perfect. Sorry to break it to you, but there it is. Neither am I. As a created being, I am flawed by my own sin nature. That means that my ego, my selfishness and my desire to control the situation is going to get in the way. My understanding is incomplete. I have a finite view of reality. God is not limited by time, experience or space. He knows all. Every possible outcome from every possible angle. If I run to Him, and trust Him to guide me to the correct actions, then take those actions, instead of leaning on my own understanding there are actually two very positive results which are listed in the next three verses.
6 In all your ways acknowledge HIM,
and HE will make straight your paths.7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
When I'm running to God for the solutions, I don't have to worry about the problem. My goal is God, so He will make the path straight, getting me through the problem. That requires walking the path, but when God makes it straight, all you have to do is keep walking. It might not be level, and there will be obstacles along the way, but all you have to do is move forward. And if you're walking directly towards Him, then you will by default turn away from evil. In the cases of needing to solve problems, that means if you have a temper, you are less likely to respond in anger. Maybe you don't think through what you say before you say it and that tends to be hurtful. Maybe you overthink things and end up stressing yourself out over the problem. If you're walking that straight path, trusting the Lord, then you can trust him to give you the responses that are correct.
How do we do that?
In every discipline, the experts practice and learn every day. That means that you need to practice following and pursuing God. Just like fighters and military default to muscle memory when things get tough, you need to practice making your muscle memory response running to God. That means daily study of God's word. That's how he speaks to us most completely. Then you need to pray all the time. Pray for understanding of the scriptures you read, pray for a good attitude, give thanks for what you already have, give thanks for the problems He's already gotten you through. Finally, surround yourself with people who do the same things. That means finding a Bible study and/or church community with a pastor who actually preaches the Bible. Discipline requires discipleship, so you need to find people with more experience to help you learn, and then find people with less experience to pass on what you've learned. All while focusing on God and trusting him. It's active trust.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
When you trust God, you might still be afraid or stressed, but make it a habit, and that stress will dwindle. Stress kills, so why not let the One who doesn't feel stress handle your problems? Just take those steps on the path He's leading you down. You will be amazed by how much relief you feel when you get there.
I'm not saying it's easy. It's not. We have to fight against our very basic natures and habits. I was raised going to church and believing the Bible. I have actively believed it for 35 years, and it's still hard for me.
My constant prayer is to ask God to help me trust Him, and to let me rely on Him to lead my actions and words. That I won't try and take control of the situation and act in a way that will harm others or myself as a result of my ego.
It's always a stuggle, but when I do the right thing it's always easier.
