One of the most soul-comforting verses from the bible is Proverbs 3:5-6: “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”
What awesome news! I find myself leadership challenged at times. My many roles often leave me perplexed and sometimes exhausted. Counselor, coach, administrator, teacher, preacher, motivator, maintenance man, leader, writer, confronted, negotiator, networker, not to mention, husband, dad, and friend. Trust. What a beautiful concept. Not always easy to do, however. The act of trust is the way we join ourselves to the sources of what we need for business and life. Since we have limits, we have to get what we need outside ourselves.
Dr. Henry Cloud observed, “From the beginning of life, we grow to the extent that we can trust and receive the things we need. The more we trust and invest in the sources that provide what we need, the more we will receive them.” I certainly agree. Trust is not easy at times because it requires two things: 1) Recognize and admit we have a need, 2) Be willing to let go and ask for help.
To “Lean not on your own understanding” means we do not support ourselves only on what we can figure out. Many things are beyond our control. “In all our ways, acknowledge Him.” Two interesting words here, are ways and acknowledge. Ways refers to our methods. (Hebrew: Derek) “A mode of action.” We are to acknowledge the Lord in our ways of doing things, trying to figure out stuff. But what does it mean to “acknowledge” the Lord?
The word in Hebrew is YADA which is translated as “to know.” This is not come to know like you just casually observe someone and you know them. These words mean you come to know them from direct intimate contact. It refers to life-giving intimacy, as it is in marriage. Applied in a spiritual context, it suggests an intimacy with God in prayer that conceives and births blessings and victories.
Putting this whole verse together, we might conclude that if in all our “ways” we maintain YADA (direct, intimate contact with God), God promises to direct our paths toward fruitful, life-begetting endeavors.
I want to encourage you to trust Him with whatever you are going through. He is always faithful to His word … and to those who know they need Him.
