A Story on Proverbs 3:5-6

Gò0dNews for Everyone

A Story on Proverbs 3:5-6

by Danette Reeves

Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” We may quote this verse as often as John 3:16. It is essential to dissect these familiar verses, not just run through them, overlooking their wisdom. Only then can we truly begin to properly understand how to apply scripture to our daily lives.

It is imperative to understand the first word, “TRUST.” According to Webster’s Dictionary, trust is “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” We are given two commands in this verse: 1) trust in the LORD, and 2) do not lean on our own understanding. Leaning on our own understanding is in complete opposition to trusting the LORD. We cannot possibly understand why or how God does everything, but He tells us to trust Him with ALL of our hearts. Guess what ALL means. ALL means ALL. We are to not only trust Him when it makes sense to us but also trust Him when we cannot understand. Our understanding is skewed by our emotions, circumstances, past experiences, and belief systems. We can trust in the LORD—the God who never changes; the God who is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. We can trust His character, ability, and strength. We are fickle; He is steadfast. We are limited in our vision; He sees everything clearly and thoroughly.

Once we settle the trust issue, He then tells us to acknowledge Him in all our ways. Again, we see the word ALL, not some. “Acknowledge” is to know Him, to recognize that God is the one who works in our lives with all wisdom, power, mercy, grace, love, and justice.

Practically, how do we acknowledge God? We study His Word, and we apply it to our lives. We pray. We follow Him as closely as possible, intentionally and expressly focused on Him. This intentionality is sometimes difficult because of distractions, peer pressure, stress, and conflicts.

We finally get to the promise: “He will make your paths straight.” I wish He had said He would make our paths easy, understandable, or even clearly marked. He said straight. When we trust Him and acknowledge Him, He will lead us straight to conforming to the image of Jesus. We will

look less like this world and more like Jesus. Romans 8:29: “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…”

That’s the straight path God has for us: Conforming and transforming to the image of Jesus, thinking His thoughts, living His example, being changed from one glory to another.

About The Author Danette Reeves and her husband, Charlie, live in Cleveland, TN. They attend The Church at Grace Point. One of their joys is being Oma and Opa to four grandchildren. Her heart’s desire is to be a student and a teacher of the Word, and a consistent follower of Jesus.

Christian Magazine

Mission Statement: Writer Guidelines:

We believe when people are equipped, motivated, and passionately engaged in living out their faith in Jesus Christ they have the potential to be world changers.

Our mission is to bring people into a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ—a relationship that empowers them to see how God can work through individual personalities, situations, and talents. Christ was an activist, he did not neglect the needs of the people as He brought His message. We strive to encourage everyone to look more like Christ by reaching outside of themselves to serve the needs of others—at home, at school, in communities, and across the world.

goodnewscm.com Phone: 423.478.6484

Who: Our writers range from pastors, professors, and professional writers to stay at home moms and dads, business professionals, and others who have a desire to reach out to people through words of encouragement.

What: We believe that it is important to laugh together, praise each other, encourage one another, and to offer biblical advice. Articles can be directed toward everyone, or from woman to woman, or man to man. We love to share recipes and family traditions as well. We ask that articles be kept to a 500 word maximum. We’d love to hear from you!

Where: Please send submissions to

articles.goodnews@gmail.com

Why: Because God has not intended for us to just survive. We believe that we are intended to reach out to love and encourage each other. God has brought each of us through tough times, blessed us, and made the “impossible” possible. Let’s, together, share the love of Jesus Christ.