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.
- – Proverbs 3:5-6
My oldest daughter attended an overnight camp this summer. She had an absolute blast with all of the various activities. One particular activity was her favorite and wanted to try it at home: the Trust Fall.
You know that game, right? You stand facing forward with a friend behind you and you fall straight back, assuming that they will catch you in their arms. I too did this game when I was a kid at an overnight camp. But it was off a platform in the woods with all my cabin mates below, arms knotted in some sort of pretzel, ready to catch me.
Those first few moments of free-falling put butterflies in my stomach, and I felt like I had no breath. Will they really catch me? It is so vulnerable to fall backwards, no hands to securely catch oneself and no eyes to see where one is falling. Our verse today reminds me of a trust fall for we have to give our absolute trust, one that goes beyond mere intellect and impulse, to the Lord.
In this life we go through difficult things: job loss, marital problems, children being diagnosed with an illness or disability, the severing of a friendship, a wayward child, a miscarriage, the loss of a loved one. And we feel like we are falling backwards – we didn’t see that coming, no arms to catch us, the breath seems to escape us, and the butterflies in our stomach turn to knots.
And perhaps more often than the big, hard things, there are little everyday annoyances that get under our skin, that rattle us just enough such that we feel like we fell a little backwards. We get stuck in traffic (enter anxiety), the people we love are quarreling (enter bewilderment or frustration), we get left out (enter insecurity), and the annoying, talks to much person is at in again (enter impatience).
I think sometimes we start from the wrong place, such that we start by trying to understand why the said thing happened. When in actuality, we need to start with God. Thus, it is not important that we understand, but rather it is important that God understands, and we trust Him. We can be honest and raw in how we feel, because Jesus, our great high priest, sympathizes with us (Heb 4:15-16). But why can we trust him deeply, such that our heart overflows with fullness of trust? Because He is good (Ps 107:1). Because He is faithful in that He works all things for good for those who love Him (Rom 8:28).
Today’s verses are a couplet. Verse 5 admonishes believers to trust in the Lord with all their heart while verse 6 gives the incentive that He will make straight their path. This doesn’t mean our future will be lawn-mowed to a nice, short-bladed path so that we don’t have any heartbreaks or setbacks. Remember, a large part of the suffering and injustice that we endure are a result of living in a fallen world, where Satan continues to exercise his evil. Rather this couplet embodies that trusting in Him [admonishment] will bring peace [incentive] (John 16:33) whether in the big, hard moments, the everyday annoyances. As we trust in Him [admonishment], He will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us [incentive] (Is 41:10). As we trust in Him [admonishment] when we make pleads for what we need, He will show himself faithful [incentive] (Ps 18). As we trust in Him [admonishment], He will give us more of Himself and give us rest [incentive] (Matt 11:30). Thus the path “gets straighter” because our fellowship and faith in Him grows deeper.
And as we go on the path which grows sweeter in fellowship and deeper in trust – He is training us in righteousness (2 Cor 9:10) to be like His perfect son Jesus. Jesus, the very one who, out of obedience to God the Father and great love for us, went to the cross to die for our sins. You see, He trusted that His Heavenly Father would indeed be faithful to raise His dead body from the grave so that all who believe in his life, death, and resurrection will be saved and reconciled back to Himself and will escape the eternal penalty of death for their sin. And since God the Father raised His dead body, we too can be confident that at Christ’s second coming, our bodies will be raised in glory. In a mere blink of an eye, Christ will return and right all the wrongs, wipe all the tears away, undo the sad things, abolish sin and death, and establish His forever kingdom where we will get to worship Him forever (Rev 21).
Maybe today you feel like you’ve mounted that platform, staring at what lies below, uncertain if He’s really got you. Beloved, you can trust Him. He will catch you in His everlasting arms (Deut 33:27).
Prayer: Father, help me to trust you with all of my heart. Help me to not rely on my own finite understanding, but on your infinite wisdom. Help me to see that the path you have me on is leading me in and to righteousness and that one day the path will end, and I will live with you forever in glory.
Reflection:
- Think through and name the path you’re on right now. Is it one of suffering? Is it one of joy? Is it one of steadiness? How can you choose to trust God fully today? Ask God that He would help you in whatever moment(s) you need.
- How have you seen the Lord mold you to be more like Christ? Is it patience? Is it joy? Is it contentment? Is it love? Is it something else? What did that process look like? Identify how He’s shaped you and take time to reflect and be thankful for His loving hand.
- What aspect of our future, forever home with Christ brings you the most hope? Take time to think about those and share that hope with a friend or loved one today.
