Trust With All Your Heart

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

I cannot tell you how many times I have quoted this verse to myself.  I usually did it when I was at the crossroads of some major decision in my life.

As I look at the verse, I ponder what is meant by and why the Lord put the words “with all thine heart” in the passage.  I had always thought that trusting God was a pass-fail matter.  You either are trusting him or you are not.  I thought, “If I am trusting, how can I trust him more?”  It doesn’t say, “Trust him with part of your heart” or even “most of your heart.”  As I read this passage, I paused and pondered for quite some time about “all thine heart”.  I came up empty and decided to continue with my devotions.

As I then read the remainder of the verse, I discovered what it meant.  The key words are “Lean not unto thine own understanding”.  There are two ingredients that affect my faith: knowledge and understanding.  Most people are willing to trust God based on their knowledge of the scriptures, their past experiences with God or based on others’ testimonies or experiences, but this will only be with half of the heart.  What we, as saved sinners, are good at doing is trusting the Lord to work out our trial and then we begin to ponder and plan how it can be done.  We want to figure out a plan and then—because we have faith—believe that he will bless and deliver.  Trusting with all your heart is believing that God can and then leaving it to him to resolve the problem.

The remaining responsibility that we have is to acknowledge him.  If he needs us to do anything, he will direct our paths.  When we cease to look to him for direction and lean on our understanding, we do evil.  Proverbs 6:7 states, “Be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil.”  This is why the Lord tells us to wait on him.  Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”  From this verse we see that waiting is a heart issue, because he needs to overcome a weak heart in order to do so. Those who do not wait on the Lord are not trusting with all of their heart.  So, as you face the trials of your life, trust in him, acknowledge his lead and wait for his directive.

Happiness (Isaiah 55:1-2)

The things in life that satisfy come from the Lord and are free.  In this day that we live in, it does not take much to realize that everybody is looking for something in their lives to make them happy.  Many have sought happiness by purchasing new or additional homes, motor and recreational vehicles and have come up empty.  Others have sought for happiness in an identity.  Whether it be a sports star, gothic queen or body piercer, none find true happiness.  Countless others have gone into debt in pursuit of finding something to satisfy, but happiness will never be able to be bought (vs. 2).

The source for your true happiness can only come from the Lord.  He is not a depository of happiness that  pours out happiness to those who ask for it, but he produces happiness in the heart of people who interact with him.  Proverbs 16:20 tells us that the person who trusts the Lord will be happy.  Psalm 1:1-2 states that our happiness will come by interacting with God through his word.  As we interact with him, our souls will be  satisfied with happiness just as our bodies are satisfied with food and drink.

Are you truly happy?  Are you interacting with the Lord?  The first step of interaction with God is by trusting his son, Jesus, as your savior.  This means that you trust that Jesus lived a sinless life, but while on the cross, he took your sin and all of the world’s upon himself and hung guilty before God.  As a substitute, he took your place and all the punishment that it deserved and paid the debt that you owe God.  If you trust him to be your savior, your sin debt will be erased and the Lord will come to live within you and begin to interact with you.  This all begins when you call out to Jesus and ask him to save you from your sin.

If you already know Christ as savior, let me implore you again to set your affection on things above and not on the things on the earth (Col. 3:2).  This redirecting of focus will again bring happiness to your heart.

O taste and see that the Lord is good…(Prov. 34:8).  He wants to show you his goodness and the best news is that it is free to everyone.

Psalm 1

This first and very familiar psalm contrasts two types of people: the godly and the wicked.  In the comparison, he shows how the one is blessed and the other will perish.

The word blessed is a word similar to the exclamation “O how happy!”  Its source is different from that of the common word happiness.  Happiness can have its motivation from two sources: internal happenings or external happenings.  Happiness that comes from external sources is short lived, but that derived from the internal is long lasting.

Imagine the excitement of going to a large amusement park with food, games and rides.  As you finally arrive and walk through the gate, your insides are tumbling with excitement.  You spend the entire day taking in all that the park has to offer.  You are happy!  However, if you returned the next day and the next and continued to go to the park everyday, you will soon become sick of the park and the fun will be gone.  You were happy, but the source was not sufficient to bring true long lasting happiness.

Now, imagine that you are with the Apostle Paul in prison.  Food, hygiene and sanitation are drastically below health standards.  It is in this setting that the Apostle writes the epistle to the Philippians, which most determine the theme of the book to be joy in Christ.  How can Paul be so happy in a place like this?  It is because the source for his happiness is from within.  Inside of Paul dwells the Holy Spirit.  He has a relationship with him, God the Father and the Son.  Because his source for happiness is from within and not the world without, nothing can rob him of his joy.  Try to remember how many times in reference to a party, get together or holiday, you have heard someone say, “Well that just ruins everything!”  Their source for happiness was focused on the outside.  During the Christmas season, does your happiness come from the glitter of the holiday or does it stem from your interaction with God as you praise him for loving you so much to come to the Earth and die for your sin.  Does your happiness come from winning the church picnic softball game or that the Lord has been so good to you by leading you to a good church and providing you with close friends.  These are a few of the many examples of how in every situation of life, we can look within or without for our source of happiness.

Many ask, “How can I have this joy?”  It is simple and is stated in this first psalm.  You must direct your focus away from the world, its philosophies and what it has to offer and look to the Word of God.  As the Lord speaks to you and leads you to principles that apply to your life, you must meditate upon them: turn them over in your heart.  It is by this manner that the Word of God becomes a part of your being.  You will not only know the Bible, but you will understand it and it will become a part of what you are.  Once you have this word deeply rooted within you, the many blessings concerning it will come.

However, if you neglect the Word of God, you too shall be tossed about as the wicked.  Although you may have eternal life in Christ and will one day be with him, you can miss out on what the Lord has for you and instead experience life as the lost do.