“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight” (CSB, emphases added).
My small, simple soul has been wrestling with trust.
Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight” (CSB, emphases added).
There is a tension in verse 5 between our hearts and our minds. Do you feel it?
Trust comes from our heart. In other contexts the same word translated “heart” can refer to our courage, our will, our intentions and determination.
Our trust is a decision, powered by the Holy Spirit, of the deepest part of ourselves to see through a new lens—that God is who He says He is and loves us as completely as He says He loves us. It is determining that we will fix our gaze on Him as the source of our courage and our peace.
But our minds work against our hearts. Our minds have limited understanding. They cannot see the big picture, the spiritual realm, or the fullness of time as God sees those things. Our minds want to dwell on what can be humanly perceived. Our minds want to tackle and solve problems based on the worldly input of this present moment.
But God is bigger than that.
God sees beyond what our finite minds can perceive. God looks on our hearts and souls and knows what we need in order to be transformed into His image. He sees beyond this moment and knows in intimate detail how it will weave together with all of our future moments.
Yes, there is a struggle between our hearts and minds over what to trust. Oh, Friend—let us determine to place our trust in our loving, limitless God rather than our own understanding. And then do the same in the next moment, and the next, and the next, until our minds begin to catch up with what our hearts know to be true.
Until next time,
Shelby
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