Blessings,
MONDAY ENCOURAGEMENT
I love the beach in the Fall. I love the sunset and the sky’s beautiful colors. This evening, I walked down the path toward the beach to catch the beautiful, breathtaking view (future pictures to follow). As I looked at the path in front of me, I thought about these verses:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him,
and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)
How many times have you thought, “I don’t know what to do” or “I don’t know which way to go”?
When we don’t know what to do, our first instinct is often to try harder to figure everything out. But Proverbs 3 invites us to do something different: trust God.
Life brings so many decisions and choices. Some are small, but others feel huge. They affect us personally and often the people we love most. We can spend so much time trying to figure everything out—looking at every possibility, wondering what might happen, and trying to determine the right way forward.
That’s one reason I love these verses in Proverbs.
Right in the middle of our questions, the God of the universe invites us to trust Him.
Not just a little.
With our whole heart.
He tells us not to lean on our own understanding. And isn’t that often exactly what we try to do? We want to understand first. We want to know how everything will work out before we let go and trust Him.
Sometimes that feels hard.
We may even wonder, if I really trust God with this, will it turn out the way I want it to?
But what if God sees something we cannot see?
Our view is so limited. We see what is directly in front of us, while God sees what we cannot. He knows what has been, what is, and what is ahead.
Maybe He is protecting us. Maybe He is redirecting us. Maybe He is doing something we won’t understand until much later.
And maybe there are times when we simply won’t have all the answers.
That’s where trust comes in.
The NIV says, “in all your ways submit to him.” Other translations use the word “acknowledge.” The Hebrew word used here is y?da?, which conveys knowing, recognizing, and acknowledging.
I love that because it reminds me that this isn’t simply about finding the right answer.
It’s about knowing the One we are trusting.
Psalm 9:10 says:
“Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
The more we know Him, the more we learn that we can trust Him.
God hasn’t left us to figure out life alone. He invites us to bring our questions, decisions, uncertainties, and even our fears to Him.
And then comes this beautiful promise:
“He will make your paths straight.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean the path will always be easy or that we’ll immediately understand where He is leading. But we can trust the One who is leading us.
Another prayer in Scripture is one I find myself coming back to.
King Jehoshaphat was facing a vast army. He didn’t know how it would all work out. He didn’t pretend to have the answer.
Instead, he prayed:
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV)
What a prayer for us.
Maybe you’re facing a decision today, and you truly don’t know what to do.
Maybe you’ve been trying to figure everything out on your own.
What if your prayer today were simply:
Lord, I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on You.
Help me trust You with my whole heart.
Help me not lean only on what I can see or understand.
Help me know You more and follow where You lead.
And when I cannot see the path ahead, remind me that You can.
A prayer for your week:
Father, You know everything. You are the all-knowing, ever-present God. You are the I AM. Help us to trust in You. You know our situation and our circumstances. Help us not to lean on our own thinking. We need Your direction. Show us the way. Make our paths straight. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You. Amen
Hugs and Blessings,
Rhonda
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Scripture References: Proverbs 3:5–6; Psalm 9:10; 2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV)
Hebrew Word Study:
y?da? (?????) — to know, recognize, acknowledge.
y?šar (??????) — to be straight or right; in Proverbs 3:6, the idea of making a path straight or directing the way.
Source: Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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