The familiar verse is before me once again:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)

It’s a “go-to” verse when we are facing challenges or decisions. It’s a prayer we offer up when choices are hard to make, and uncertainties loom before us. Yet the other morning, it sat in front of me offering three directives and a promise.

• Trust. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” The word denotes an attaching oneself to something, in the case, attaching ourselves to the Lord. It brings the idea there is a safety which comes from the attaching; a firm ground. There is a security found in God alone. Whatever we may be facing, we can know God already has it all figured out.
• Depend. “Do not depend on your own understanding …”. We do not know all things, nor what the future holds. May we place ourselves in a position of surrender, leaning on the strength and understanding which only God can bring.
• Seek. “Seek his will in all you do …”. This will require not wanting our own way but searching out His will. Will we not “depend on our own understanding”, going ahead with what seems to make sense to us, but patiently wait until He gives direction.

Applying these three actions to our lives, brings the promise:

“And he will show you which path to take.”

This is the assurance we have been given. We can place our trust in Him because He is trustworthy. We truly do not understand as much as we think we do. We are utterly dependent on Him to guide us every day, moment by moment.

We live by faith, knowing
He will not abandon us ever,
but will reveal His will for each step we take.