607_Trusting God’s way (Prov 3:5-10) Proverbs 3:5-10 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. There is a well-known story of a seasoned mountain guide leading a group through a dense fog. At one point, visibility dropped so severely that the path ahead disappeared entirely. One of the climbers, anxious and uneasy, asked, “Are you sure this is the right way?” The guide replied calmly, “I’ve walked this path many times. You may not see it, but I know where it leads.” The climber then had a choice—to trust his own limited sight or to trust the guide who knew the terrain. That moment captures the essence of what Proverbs calls us to when it says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs presents trusting in God not as an emergency measure, not as a last resort when everything else fails, but as a posture of life. Yet, in reality, many people turn to God only after exhausting every other option. In medical emergencies, for instance, prayer is often solicited only when doctors say there is nothing more they can do. God is treated like a backup plan rather than the primary guide. Scripture, however, consistently calls us to a deeper, fuller trust—one that begins not at the end of our resources but at the very beginning of our decisions. The Bible places before us men and women whose lives were shaped by this kind of trust. Hebrews 11 devotes considerable attention to Abraham and Sarah, presenting them as heroes of faith. Abraham’s trust was not theoretical; it was demonstrated in costly obedience. When God called him to leave his country, his relatives, and his father’s house, and to go to a land that God would show him, Abraham stepped into the unknown. He walked away from familiarity, security, and cultural comfort into a strange land among unfamiliar people, guided only by the promise of a faithful God. Scripture tells us that “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” His trust was so complete that he burned all bridges behind him. He was convinced that the God who called him was trustworthy and would direct his steps. This resolve is seen clearly later in his life when he instructed the servant of his household to find a bride for his son Isaac. Twice Abraham emphasized, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.” There was no retreat in Abraham’s heart. Even though he lived as a sojourner in the land God promised him and owned nothing there except the
