“Trust in the LORD…” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
If you are like me, for the longest time, you may see the Word of God as found in Proverbs 3:5-6 as more of a suggestion than a command. Unfortunately, when we see the cause and effect relationship between the first verse and the second, we stop short of truly grasping what the Lord is commanding. Perhaps, if we apply the “understood you” to the verse, then we can tackle what the verse says a bit better, as the verse as translated is lacking a subject matter to do the “trusting.”
If we apply the “understood you” to the verses, we would read the verse as, “YOU trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” By simply adding “you” which is the “implied subject” of the verse, we can see plainly that this verse is not some mere jubilant optimism but rather, a strict command in which a failure to uphold the command bears with it a particular catastrophic consequence.
The particular consequence can be seen in the inverse reading of the passage, which would be (keeping the “understood you” in place), “If you do not trust in the Lord with all your heart and if you lean on your own understanding, God will not make straight your paths.” The failure to uphold this command is indeed catastrophic, and the consequence is a path that, like Pilgrim at certain times in Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” will lead through despair and mire and bog and sinking sand, as opposed to the King’s good path.
Turning now, to the matter at hand, we must realize the importance of abiding by this command. This is not a suggestion like saving a certain amount of money per paycheck to have a sizable amount of money for your retirement. No, this is a command from the King whose Word is sure and trustworthy. You must trust in the LORD.
- What does it mean, to “trust” in the LORD?
The American Heritage Dictionary, which defines words in a historical context and is not tossed to and fro by the changing political discourse like certain other dictionaries, explains trust as a “firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing; confidence or reliance.” This definition is exceptional in that it not only clearly defines the word, but like many of us would do, it uses the word “belief” interchangeably with the word “trust.”
Now, to further understand “trust” we can dive into “belief.” Belief, according to the American Heritage Dictionary is “the mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another.” This definition leads us to the heart of “trust” which is the heart of man. The actions and words of a man betray what the heart believes; the mental act, condition, or habit (together demonstrating the concept of the heart) will lead to certain actions which will show what a man truly believes.
A classic example of this is used in regards to faith, which is essentially the same concept as “belief.” Both “belief” and “faith” are interchangeable in many ways, particularly in regards to “trust.” Trust has with it, in its definition, the concept of “confidence.” Confidence begins with the Latin prefix “con” which means “with” and continues with the Latin root word “fide” which means “faith” – all of this is to simply point out that the words, particularly faith, trust, and belief are interchangeable to a degree and each can be understood at least in part as “confidence.”
Now, the picture which is often used to demonstrate faith is that of a chair. If you are not yet sitting down, I would encourage it. If you are sitting down, congratulations! Your chair has held you up! How many of us, when we take a seat on a chair, are sure to ask the question to the chair, “Chair, are you going to hold me up this time?” or “Chair, are you sure you can support me?” I am going to confidently suggest that zero percent of readers, before sitting in a chair, ask their chair anything whatever, they just simply sit on a chair with full confidence that the chair will not snap in half. That’s an old demonstration that is in no means original to this author, but it is a good one nonetheless.
This picture demonstrates the concept of trust. The chair, time and time again, has supported you, and therefore you trust in the chair. This repeated success of the chair demonstrates a second key component of “trust” which is “integrity.” Remember the definition above; Trust is a “firm belief in the integrity” of a person. I do not think it is a bridge too far to say God is more trustworthy than a chair, as I have known many chairs to snap, but I have never seen God break His Word.
If we allow for the services of the American Heritage Dictionary once more, we will find the definition of integrity is “steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.” Appropriately, we should ask the question, “Does God have a strict moral, or ethical code?” to which the body of Christ world-wide should answer, “Yes.” In fact, God has a rather large moral code in Scripture that can be summarized with two commands: Love the Lord your God with everything you’ve got and love your neighbor as yourself. Upon these two commands hang all the Law and the Prophets!
In terms of God’s character, let’s be a bit more specific, however, as we ask the follow up question to the above question. Here is the follow up question, knowing clearly that God does have a strict moral code: “Does God follow His own moral and ethical code?” Again, the church world-wide should be able to answer this question with the simple, “Yes.” How do I know this is the case?
Look no further than the God-Man, who is the Second Person of the Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:14-16 says,
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
If we are to take what the author of Hebrews says here seriously, we would be left with the Biblical reality that Jesus was actually tempted (see Matthew 4:1-11) like we are, and yet never sinned. If we applied the moral law (the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:1-17) to Jesus, we would find a man who lived a perfectly impeccable, undefiled, and holy life. In Him, We would find the only totally innocent man to ever live. In Him, We would find a God who fulfilled His own Law on our behalf, because we could not do it ourselves. Praise be to God for giving us this Jesus as our perfect, spotless atonement for our own sins; Jesus poured out His life on the cross on behalf of every sinner that will believe in Him so that whosoever believes would not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and Jesus took that upon Himself to present to us the free gift of God, eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Further, a dead savior is no savior at all, so Jesus rose again the third day as the firstfruits from the grave so that we could with Him be raised to eternal life. Jesus did all this perfectly and never once fell short.
All of that, returning to the topic at hand, is to point out that if trust is a “firm belief in the integrity of a person” then clearly, the Christian has nothing greater to trust than Him who has perfect integrity. Everything will fail you at some point, therefore the integrity of everything is at some point lacking; God will never fail, and therefore His integrity abounds more and more and remains perfect and untouchable. There is nothing greater to trust than Him nor can there be.
What does this definition and rambling mean in regards to our verse? The verse says, “Trust in the LORD” – this means that at the core of our being, in our deepest convictions, the very center of who we are, “trust in the LORD” means we “know God is exactly who He claims to be.” This is not a mere head knowledge, but rather, it is the same “know” as you possess before you sit down on your chair. It’s the same “know” that you have when you are asked by a child “What is 2 + 2?” You know the answer and cannot be swayed, as cute as the child might appear, by the child saying, “No, the answer is 5!” You “know” that the chair will hold you up and that 2 + 2 = 4, and your deepest conviction allows you to trust that the chair will uphold you and the math will never change.
We “hope” that God is good; belief and faith is to “know” that God is good – “Taste and see that the Lord is Good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8). To trust God is to know that what He says will be; if He says, “It will rain” then it will rain. If He says, “It will snow” then it will snow. If He says a thing will happen then it will and if He says it won’t, then it won’t. These are perfectly upheld by the God who never changes and who abounds in perfect integrity. For us, we are to taste and see that the Lord is good and take refuge in him; this means we hear His Word, believe it, hide it in our hearts, and abound in trust and love for Him!
Let’s tie a silly bow here; God is more trustworthy than a chair. I’ve caused chairs to snap. I’ve broken chairs. I’ve sabotaged chairs. I’ve seen chairs used as weapons. Chairs are chairs until they’re not. You cannot make any claims like this about God. You cannot say of God that He is defeating His purpose (like a chair collapsing in on itself) or God is unfaithful (like a chair being used as a weapon); God is perfect and trustworthy. You cannot say “God is God until He is not” because God will continue to be God whether we believe (trust) Him or not. He will continue to be perfect and trustworthy; He will continue to uphold the world by the strength of His might and He will continue to establish His Law (and He will not break that law).
- How do we increase our “Trust” in the LORD?”
An abundantly appropriate question can be asked here. This is all well and good, but how do I increase my “trust” in the Lord? Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema, begins by saying, “Hear O’ Israel, the Lord, the Lord our God is One.” It is followed up by the greatest command which is, “And you shall love the Lord Your God with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength.” That’s pretty plain; know that God is One and love him! Enough said, right?
Apparently this is not enough, because God continues to tell us how we are to love Him in the following verses. Man, whose hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, can do all kinds of things in the Name of the Lord and be eternally far from His heart. Man has a habit of only doing what is right in his own eyes; who knows this better than the God that created man?
God tells us how we are to love Him. We are to bind up His words in our hearts. We are to teach the words diligently to our children. We are to talk about the words all the time. We are to bind them as a sign on our hands. We are to bind them as frontlets between your eyes. We are to write them on the door posts of our houses and on our gates. While each of these ideas are helpful to say the least, there is one particular statement here that summarizes the rest; you are to bind them as a sign on your hand and as frontlets for your eyes.
The Lord is not telling you to tattoo the entire Bible on your right hand; I am not even sure how possible that is and I am less sure how helpful those tiny letters would be. The reality here is that every work that we do needs to be done in the Spirit and in truth. As Jesus says in John 4:23, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him.” The only way we can do this is if every deed we do is done in accordance and obedience to the Word of God.
For example, if I am to try to honor God, would it be wise to bear false witness against my brother? Or, if I am to try to honor God, would it be wise to abandon my faith in a cowardly manner when the winds and waves of this world beat down upon my house? No, to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth and to bind the word on my hands is to obey the Word which tells me, “Thou shalt not lie” or that “cowards” do not enter the kingdom of God (Revelation 21:8). How am I to know what I should do to honor God, unless God tells me how to honor Him?
God tells us clearly in the pages of Scripture how to honor Him. If you want to increase your trust in Him, then you need to be diving into the pages of Scripture to see what it says. In that Bible are found all the words to make one wise unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:15) and all the words that cause the man of God to be complete and equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If you want to increase your trust in God, do what He says, study the Word, and do everything you do in accordance and obedience to the Word of God. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
What’s more, a frontlet between your eyes seems rather dangerous. God is not telling you to have a little box in front of your face containing the Word of God. No, He is telling you that every thought needs to be centered on the Word of God and all of your worship needs to be directed to the Lord your God. The very beginning of the Shema tells you how many gods there are (one) so who are we to defy an All-Knowing God who knows of no other god (Isaiah 45:18, 21) by worshiping some other god? Why would we bow the knee to birds and beasts and creeping things or images resembling man (Romans 1:22-23) when we have plainly before us the God who created all things? God the LORD, and Him alone, must we worship. He even tells us how He wants this to be done, in His Word, which is to be the frontlet between your eyes, and the thing directing your very thoughts and worship back unto the Lord.
If you want to increase your trust in the LORD, we can conclude with a personal favorite passage of mine, which is Joshua 1. In that passage, we find one of the most famous verses in the Old Testament, Joshua 1:9, which says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” This verse on its own is mighty indeed but in the context of this article, we should ask the question, “Why is Joshua able to trust God like this?” Remember, Joshua is about to lead the people to the cities of giants to devastate the pagan nations and conquer the promised land, afterall. What gives? What is so unique about Joshua that he can have this trust in God and we cannot?
The answer is seen plainly in the prior verse. Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Then we get to verse 9 which is written above; Joshua knows He is to be courageous because God has already commanded it by His Word. Joshua is to find His courage and strength from the Word of God which makes his way prosperous.
If Joshua abides by the command as given, then He will dive into the Scripture (which at the time was probably Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy with perhaps the addition of Job); already in those five books (and maybe six, depending on who you ask), Joshua has enough recorded by the Spirit of God to see clearly how God has acted with pure sovereign grace in the world. He strengthened His people, destroyed wicked, pagan nations, and provided miracles by His own hand for the people of Israel. Joshua is to be reminded constantly of these things, as well as the express commands of God (like the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20), so that He can be careful to do all of the Word, down to the most minute detail. He was to meditate on it and contemplate it and rechew the cud as some say, so that when He attacked Jericho, he would have the strength to obey God’s command. God, by His own providence and for His own glory, would demonstrate to faithful Joshua His power over the massive walls in Jericho by bringing them down with the sounds of trumpet and victory shout.
To conclude here, we can re-ask the question, “How do I increase my trust in God?” To answer plainly, read the Word of God. Then, having dedicated yourself to reading that Word and meditating on it, believe everything written in it to the glory of God, and in all ways acknowledge Him, then He shall make straight your paths. How can you know or believe or trust how good God is if you are neglecting His Word? You cannot understand His immense integrity if you are forsaking the evidence of that integrity which is His Word; if you forsake His integrity, then what is there to trust? Be like Joshua; meditate on God’s Word day and night and you will be able to answer the command in Proverbs 3:5-6; “YOU trust in the Lord.”