WHICH WAY DO YOU LEAN?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).


Solomon was very engaged in the training of his children, just as every father should be. A large part of Solomon’s writing in Proverbs is a father sharing wisdom principles with his children. Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of those nuggets of gold that is worth more than a casual glance.

I break this wonderful passage down this way—it works for me!

1. The Challenge

The challenge is presented to us in two different ways. Maybe twice because we are stubborn and slow to learn? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” and “In all your ways acknowledge Him.”

The word translated trust means “to lie helpless, facedown.” It is a picture of someone who has surrendered and is waiting for the command to obey. It does not suggest that we turn off our brain and ignore our intelligence and common sense. It is an acknowledgement that we are limited in our capacities and abilities and He is not. He is God and we are not!

“In all your ways acknowledge Him” is speaking about the entire course of your life. It means that we set Him first and invite Him to be involved in all aspects of our life: personal and professional; public and private; present and future. To acknowledge does not mean to tip your hat to God, to nod as if in agreement; it means to totally and wholeheartedly embrace God and His working in your life. The word acknowledge here also means “to know” on an intimate, personal level. These two challenges are clear in their boundaries; we are to choose to acknowledge/to know Him “in all our ways” and “with all our heart.”

2. The Question

Solomon moves quickly from the first part of the challenge to “and lean not on your own understanding.” It is as though the writer is saying that one of the ways you can muddy up your faith and dilute it is through a continual retreating back to reliance on our own abilities and intellect. Again, this verse is not saying that we should abandon any kind of intellectual pursuit and become a mindless automaton. It is saying that we must not make the base line of our faith our trust in ourselves, in our intellect and our abilities. We are to engage our intellect and wisdom but in submission to the plan and purpose of God.

The question that has to be answered by each of us is, “Which way do I lean?” Are we content to make our own way through life resting on our own abilities and wisdom? Are we so arrogant that we believe we have most, if not all, the answers? Have I brought my intelligence and abilities to a place of submission? If not, why not? What would hold us back from letting God’s blessing flow into our life?

Which way do you lean?

3. The Promise

“And He will direct your paths.” This is God’s promise to His children. God says, “I will direct or make straight/successful the paths of your life.” When I study this verse, I keep going back to a mental picture of a bobsled run. Most of us have seen bobsled races as a part of the Winter Olympics on TV or perhaps on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. On each side of the track are eight- or ten-feet-high banks of ice and snow that keep the sled on the track where it is supposed to be. The slickness of the ice, the accumulating speed, and the downhill slope make it difficult under the best of circumstances to keep the sled centered on the track. Even though the sled may bounce from side to side, with the safeguard of the banks the sled will stay on the racing track most of the time.

So it is with our downhill race to the finish line of God’s purpose for our life. God makes a promise to us: “You put your trust in Me and get it off yourself and I will keep you on track. When you start to slip and slide, I’ll be there and I will keep you safe and on course.”

Which way do you lean?

“The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually.” J.I. Packer