Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
Proverbs 3:5 is one of those verses in the Bible that people quote all the time like Philippians 4:13 and John 3:16. But, how many of us really understand what God is telling us here? People (including me) quote this verse usually to encourage others when faced with a big decision. However, is that all God is telling us here? One key word sticks out in this verse that I believe gets overlooked often, and that’s the word ‘lean’.
This word is significant here because it doesn’t take much to lean on something. All it takes is a slight bend of the knee or movement of your torso and one can lean. More than that, if I’m hanging a picture, all it takes is someone to tell me “move it slightly left, it’s still leaning to the right.” My point being that a slight lean is noticeable.
God tells us here don’t even lean on your own knowledge and intellect. He could’ve said don’t lay on it, but we are so foolish that God tells us to not even lean. Wow!
This means, every seemingly insignificant decision, small gesture, and minor thought should be given to God first who is stable and unchanging. It may seem a little “overkill”, but there’s a reason that Paul tells us to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
Paul isn’t encouraging us to pray all day while rejecting our responsibilities, that would be silly. But what he is saying, which is in line with the first part of the verse “be so in tune with Jesus, that you are trusting Him with everything that you do”. If you don’t think Jesus is a God of details, then your God is too small, get Him out of that box you’ve placed Him in.
What areas of your life are you ever so slightly leaning on something else for your joy, passion, wisdom, and contentment? Marinate on that one this week…
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