Gò0dNews for Everyone
A Story on Proverbs 3:5-6
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by Danette Reeves
roverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the LORD with all your
as closely as possible, intentionally and expressly focused
heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In
on Him. This intentionality is sometimes difficult because of
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make
distractions, peer pressure, stress, and conflicts.
straight your paths.” We may quote this verse as often as
We finally get to the promise: “He will make your paths
John 3:16. It is essential to dissect these familiar verses, not
straight.” I wish He had said He would make our paths
just run through them, overlooking their wisdom. Only then
easy, understandable, or even clearly marked. He said
can we truly begin to properly understand how to apply
straight. When we trust Him and acknowledge Him, He will
scripture to our daily lives.
lead us straight to conforming to the image of Jesus. We will
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
look less like this world and more like Jesus. Romans 8:29:
by our emotions, circumstances, past experiences, and
“For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be
belief systems. We can trust in the LORD—the God who
conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might
never changes; the God who is omniscient, omnipresent,
be the firstborn among many brothers.” 2 Corinthians 3:18:
omnipotent. We can trust His character, ability, and
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the
strength. We are fickle; He is steadfast. We are limited in
Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one
our vision; He sees everything clearly and thoroughly.
degree of glory to another…”
Once we settle the trust issue, He then tells us to
That’s the straight path God has for us: Conforming
acknowledge Him in all our ways. Again, we see the
and transforming to the image of Jesus, thinking His
word ALL, not some. “Acknowledge” is to know Him, to
thoughts, living His example, being changed from one
recognize that God is the one who works in our lives with
glory to another.
Practically, how do we acknowledge God? We study His Word, and we apply it to our lives. We pray. We follow Him
44 // May 2022
About The Author
all wisdom, power, mercy, grace, love, and justice. 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.
