Day 3 – Proverbs 3
On Thursday night we were driving back from Chicago to Indianapolis. I decided to try to save 3 or 4 minutes by taking a “short cut” back to the house we were staying at in Indy. My wife “suggested” I take the way in which I was familiar because it was late and my kids had been in the car most of the day. Three minutes off of our drive was substantial…so I decided to take the short cut. 30 MINUTES later, we arrived at the house. That incident reminds me of my favorite verses of Proverbs 3:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. [a]7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
The key word for me in this passage is “ALL”. Trust with ALL of your heart; in ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. So many times in my life I have tried to take a short cut and trust my own wisdom. I have been wise in my own eyes, and have ended up going in circles in life. My financial plan was better. My plan to relate to my wife was better. My agenda at work was one worth pursuing. I had it down on how to parent my kids. My priorities, my desires, my relationships, my plan. I trusted God, but not with ALL of my heart. The result was days, weeks, months sometimes seasons of crooked paths. God promises to make our path straight IF we give Him ALL of us…all of our heart, all of our trust.
Maybe you find yourself in a season of feeling lost, feeling like you are wondering through life with no direction. Maybe you are in the same place January 3, 2010 as you were January 3, 2009. Does God have all of your heart? Do you trust Him with everything…your relationships, your money, your time, your career, your kids, your plan, your future?
God’s promises are true and they are powerful and we can count on them. But this promise is conditional. God will make our path straight IF we trust Him with all of our heart.
Is there something in your life right now that you are having a difficult time trusting God with?
Justin Davis
I must be a bit of slow learner, call it a spiritual learning disability. Logically, after 36 years of screwing up, I should be wiser and beyond my own insecurities, but some how I keep making the same mistakes. Trust has always been a hard thing for me, but God has taught me a lot in 2009 about Trust and I long to trust him with so much more in 2010. Thanks for sharing bro, and listen to your wife, they are ALWAYS right!
SO much in this one! What really stands out to me is that in addition to telling us to trust God even when it doesn’t make sense, this chapter tells us to not let sound judgement and discernment out of our sight, to never let love and faithfulness leave us – bind them around our neck, as if they are trying to escape and it takes effort to keep them. This chapter seems to be a warning that it will be easy to become hard and cynical in this world and lose good judgement in our actions if we don’t continually and purposefully grab on and hold tightly to God’s wisdom.
Kelly, I had not looked at it in the way of judgement and discernment trying to escape but it makes so much since because of the world we live in. It’s something we have to remeber to do every day and seek God for that judgement and discernment. Thank you for your thoughts.
The same verse stuck out to me, Kelly. I’ve got to keep my eyes on sound judgment and discernment. There are lots of options before us…especially living in a developed nation. Lots of good choices and I need the wisdom of God to lead me to the best of these options.
I am at a place now where I could go plant a church (probably with a denomination outside of my own) or take a new role at my current church as a worship pastor.
Both are great options. Lord, which one is the best?
Honestly, I have had a closed fist to the worship pastor role because I’ve lost hope in the work culture that’s put a wet blanket on my hopes and dreams that last three years.
thanks again for your comments.
Justin, thanks for pointing out the extremely critical little word – ALL. This is the key in this passage for me. I think I trust the Lord with SOME of my heart and acknowledge him in SOME of my ways, but not always ALL. Great challenge for me today!
As americans we now live in a different place than we did 10 years ago. One of the main things we face in this day and time is uncertainty of what is going to happen to our country. Praise God that he assures us in vs-24-26 that we do not have to be fearful because “the Lord is our security”.
Justin, I find myself being forced to accept God’s will over my life. Trying it my way, and getting it horribly wrong, at 50 yrs old, I am starting over. This time with God at the wheel. It isn’t easy, I kick and scream and ask ‘Lord, why?’ or ‘why me’? and then versus 11-12 answers it for me: He loves us soooo much that he disciplines us to keep us from ourselves, plain and simple. He wants to keep us from going down the crooked paths that only we can will ourselves to follow. He wants our ‘paths smooth’ – and straight, without hurt, and discouragement. I love this passage and glad you used it today to respond to.
I appreciate your thoughts Justin as well as everyone else’s. I can see how so many times in my life I’ve chosen to trust God with some or most of everything instead of with ALL. I’m blessed to be married to a Christian man and count him as a gift from God, but we are facing some challenges right now, and I would say this is the area where I’m struggling to trust God. Thanks for the encouragement here
I agree… truly trusting God with everything is my New Year’s Resolution. I hope to look back at the end of the year and find that life is more manageable as a result.
There was so much packed in to this chapter and I love that you focused on these verses in particular. They are what really struck a chord with me too and they are probably the verses I’m most familiar with in all of Proverbs. Why why why do I continue to ‘lean on MY own understanding’? To think my way would be better than what God is making apparent? The all part is where I go off track too. I’m so thankful His mercies are new every morning and am particularly reminded of that as we begin a new year. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this…great challenge to trust Him with my ALL.
Justin, thank you this was very well written. This chapter is full of such rich information on wisdom. As we start a New Year I always look to strengthen my roots in the soil of wisdom and this chapter is full of good information.
One of the things that personally stuck out to me was vs.27–28 “ Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “come back later, I’ll give it tomorrow”. As a very busy professional, this is a great reminder. I often times get busy and focused on things and don’t take the time to say job well done or give someone a few words of wisdom in dealing with a situation. If I have been blessed with wisdom thru God, he calls me to share it with them today and not wait till a time when I am less busy.
Great post! And it’s definitely a dying daily and trusting daily to actually trust Him in ALL. Even today, He was asking me to trust Him with ALL and not let my own “wants” get in the way of saying “yes” to Him and “no” to certain relationships and really trusting Him to work ALL things together for good no matter what it looks like in the moment.
It’s so hard to trust ALL. I always want to create a fall back plan in case God doesn’t show up how I want Him to show. How foolish is that?
This is one of my favorite chapters in Proverbs. I’m having the hardest time trusting God with my unfulfilled dreams (marriage, children). This proverb is really challenging me to let go of preconceived ideas about what God’s will might be for me. Every time I read 3:5-7, I feel like the Holy Spirit is praying the idol of human-centered, wish-filled hope. But the more I let go and trust God, the more He blows my mind with His “exceeding and abundant” will.
Justin, your thoughts reminded me of the times I have depended on my trusty GPS for the shortest route possible. (Once near Gatlinburg, I ended up on a road on top of a mountain that was not really a road!) The challenge in this passage for me is discerning God’s path vs. my path in the everyday little choices I have to make. Those little choices sometimes results in paths that aren’t so straight. I want straight paths; though sometimes I sure would prefer bigger signs pointing the way. I guess that is where the whole “Praying without ceasing” thing comes in, huh?
Justin, good word on Prov 3:5-7. Here’s to staying away from seasons of crooked paths! Here’s to trusting Jesus with ALL!
Here’s one of the verses that jumped out at me:
Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man. Prov 3:3-4
There are times in my life where I think “I don’t give a crap what they think. I’ll tell them where they can go.” That’s not exactly binding kindness and truth around my neck, and certainly not writing it on the tablet of my heart.
I hope to be an example of what binding kindness and truth around my neck look like. I hope to continually write them on the tablet of my heart.
I want to be a man in God’s eyes, and not the misguided picture of a man the world has put out there for me to attain.
Jesus, help us to be a living example of you to the people in our paths! AMEN!
Thank you Justin–very thought provoking post.
The verse that stuck out for me was verse 7, especially the first part:
Be not wise in our own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. (AMP)
I struggle with trusting God with the small stuff, the little things I think I can handle on my own. This year I’m trying to be more intentional about trusting Him with ALL things and not feel the need to take the wheel.
So many times I want to take control of a situation only to wind up realizing that I have no control whatsoever. I keep learning this lesson in my life. Being a type A, ENFJ personality (something I learned much about thanks to the Dream Job series) it is my nature to want to “fix” everything, take care of everything and everybody…often forgetting that I am not the one who can do it. I need the Lord to guide my steps, my actions, my all – and time and time again He reminds me of that.
Yes, for a second I was taken back because I do feel like January 3, 2009 is practically the same as January 3, 2010. I asked God for a sign on whether or not to continue with school and clearer than any time, I felt like he answered. However,recently I was told my program would take 2 years instead of 1 and fear set in for financial uncertainty. So, yes I struggle with trusting God when the path seems so confusing and my heart has such a bruise from feeling behind so many of my peers. Yet, despite it all, I know God’s plans for me are good.
Proverbs 4:5-7
“Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
These verses spoke to me because I felt they meant, in gaining wisdom, we must also apply it. It’s not enough to just learn what wisdom is if we don’t look at our lives and and our situations and learn how to make better decisions based on the wisdom.
Proverbs 4:5-7
“Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
These verses spoke to me because I felt they meant, in gaining wisdom, we must also apply it. It’s not enough to just learn what wisdom is if we don’t look at our lives and and our situations and learn how to make better decisions based on the wisdom.
Proverbs 5- Dont entertain another woman outside of your marriage. It will bring heartbreak and all kinds of trouble into your life. Not just physical trouble but financial and spiritual trouble as well. God gave you one spouse. So make the most of it and keep that person that you married satisfied and loved. Listen, for aman’s ways are in full view of the Lord and he examines all his paths…Remember that at the end of the journey we all must give an account for everything. So do your best to embrace God’s Word and live it out passionately for him.