King Solomon wrote most of the Book of Proverbs. The proverbs of Solomon, who was the son of King David and Bathsheba, is a collection of instructional advice. This is a book of wise sayings, and the book uses various literary forms: poems, brief parables. Solomon wanted to impart wisdom to all people, regardless of age, sex, or position in society. In Proverbs 3:5, Solomon tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." A Proverb is a saying or maxim. It is a short saying that expresses advice or a general truth. A truth that is based on common sense or experience.
Solomon possessed a brilliant mind. It was said that he uttered three thousand proverbs and his songs totaled one thousand five. When he became king, he asked the Lord, "Give me, now, wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great" (2 Chronicles 1:10). "And God said to Solomon, 'Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have'" (2 Chronicles 1:11-12).
Proverbs 3 is about the rewards of wisdom and in verse five Solomon tells us to, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." This is a very serious admonition; yet it offers such wonderful assurance of guidance into a way of peace. What a contrast this is as Solomon says in Proverbs 28:26, "He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe." Let's look at the word, trust. It is a word that is familiar to all of us. Trust is usually the basis for relationships, friendships, and fellowship. Trust is an attitude we have towards people who we hope will be trustworthy. It is important because it allows us to depend on others for love, advice, and for help. Even thieves want trust between themselves, but we know better. Oftentimes we use this word to describe someone of good integrity, but it is also used in the negative as, "I don't trust you or anyone else."
To trust God is to listen for God's voice in everything we do. When we trust in the Lord with all thine heart, what we are saying is, my heart beat is not mine, it is God who is in control. The heart is not only pumping blood, but out of it comes the abundance of truth. How many times have we heard the old saying, "Charge it to my head and not my heart?" The key here is, intent.
It is God's will in us that gives us the desire for doing right and not wrong, the passion for perfection, the determination to achieve, and if we can but discover His way, His plan, His thought, and follow His direction, then we shall come to fulfillment, even though it maybe through some type of battle, through strife, through conflict, through tears, through apparent disaster and defeat. This is only the making process which is God's way to break us then mold us for the plan He has laid out for our lives. And of the the wisdom a person may acquire, it can never replace the need for full trust in the Lord.
Throughout the Book of Proverbs, one sees the rewards of "trusting in the Lord with all thine heart." "Clinging to the Lord," with the idea of setting in one's hope and confidence upon the Lord, as opposed to the futility of resting in one's own way. Even in the ordinary decision of a day, we need the counsel of God, who instructs His creation to consult Him about even the smallest issue, whether in the spiritual or the secular realm. God promises to communicate in return. Jesus in His earthly minister said to His disciples, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). He even went further to say, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father" (John 14:13).
We are not to seek the temporal things of this world, but we are to be trusting God's purpose for us, as Believers. Then we know we have trusted God. It is His will that we incorporate in our hearts, and it is His will that guides our heart in our daily walk. Too often we see ourselves in light of our own accomplishments. No man is self-sufficient. This has been the ruin of mankind ever since the fall of Adam. This grand sin plunged the human race to depths of disobedience and continues to plague humanity as we continue to ignore God. It is God's plan that we do not to be self-dependent. We are, and must at all times look unto God for all things, for He created us and we did not create ourselves.
Solomon could talk about trust and the heart because he had a father who knew the Lord and trusted Him, although he stumbled along the way. Yet we are constantly reminded that "the apple does not fall too far from the tree." "Like father, like son." David was a powerful man of God and he wrote, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). In light of this Psalm, David could have said, "Thy word have I trusted in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."
If we are to trust the Lord, the heart will play a major part in it. David knew something about the heart, after all he was called, "A man after God's own heart." In essence, God loved David, in spite of his short coming, and David trusted God. God in turned claimed him, and labeled him as, "He's mine." None of us are perfect, but that is no excuse for not "trusting in the Lord."
May I ask you a question? Are you trusting in God with all your heart? Are you allowing God to lead you and guide you in the way of righteousness? Have you given Him your heart? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, please go to God in sincere prayer and ask Him for forgiveness and then strive to be obedient in God's will for your life. Trusting God is having faith that God can and He will do what He desires to do. It is not what we desire, because we know that God knows what is best for us.
Let's not be like the woman with the issue of blood. She went everywhere and sort help from everyone, and then she finally came to the Great Physician, Jesus. It was out of her faith that she was healed, but while she was chasing pipe dreams of hope of her own volition, she was delaying what was already declared her blessing.
Sometimes the height is never reached, success is never achieved, the gleaming glory that is sought after fades and passes, and there is nothing but darkness and disappointment. The reason is that while the glory was true in possibility, the true path to the mountain heights have been discovered. There in the distance is victory, but if we do not know the way, the end will be in the valley, in the place of disaster, in the place of defeat. In all things "trust the Lord" and He will give forth the victory.
Trust does not come so easily. If you were asked, "Do you trust the Lord God?" Your answer would probably be "Yes." Yet, as fallible human beings, we put our trust is so many things. We put our trust in people, we put our trust in things. For example, we put our trust in banks to care for our money. We put our trust in our employers to give us our paychecks.
God wants us to trust Him. Jesus tells us in John 14:1, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." Jesus does not want us to not be so focus on our life, our problems, and our difficulties. Jesus calls for us to trust God, because His plan is so much better for us than anything we could ever do for ourselves.
We must "trust in the Lord," through faith. Ephesians 2:8 tells us, "For it is by grace you have beed saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." We know that grace is unmerited favor towards us, but faith speaks of the individual. Hebrews 11:6 states, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
We "trust in the Lord," through obedience. The Scripture tells us, "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22). When we honor God by being obedient, He will bless our going out and our coming in.
We can "trust in the Lord," through the understanding of His Word. Trusting God is one of those things that we think we understand until it time for us to do it. God can be trusted because His Word is true, and He keeps all of His promises. Scripture tells us, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). We are to, " Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). It is important as Believers in Christ to study the Word of God, because studying God's Word is our spiritual GPS system for our daily living. The Word of God keeps us on the right pathway. We must depend on God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, because without Him there is no understanding of who God is and what He requires of us.
We must "trust in the Lord," through every Word of God. Whatever God says, I believe it and that's it. There are no maybe's, no if's, and's, or but's about it. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick; and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
We must "trust the Lord with all thine heart." We must believe that He is able to do what He will. That He is wise to do what is best, that His Word is good and true. He will do for us according to His promise, to what is best for us, if we love Him and serve Him. We must, with entire submission and satisfaction, depend upon him to perform all things for us by "trusting in the Lord with all thine heart."
God is asking you a simple question, "Do you trust me?" God wants you to place your complete trust in Him. You know what? God blesses those that trust Him. Those that trust God can expect great things from Him.