Spiritual Focus and Trust in God

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight.

These are beautiful, reassuring words. Surely no one in all the universe is more trustworthy than our beloved heavenly Father. Nevertheless, it is easier to read those words in Proverbs than to put them into practice.

Many have mistaken ideas about what it means to trust in the LORD. Some think of such trust merely as a feeling, a kind of blissful emotion that should well up naturally in the heart. Others seem to believe that trusting in God means that we can expect him to shield us from every difficulty, to solve our every problem, to make every daily challenge turn out just as we hope-and right away! But such notions are unfounded. In adults, trust involves making conscious, reasoned decisions.

Note again that Proverbs 3:5 contrasts trusting in the LORD with "leaning on our own understanding", suggesting that we cannot do both. Does that mean that we are not allowed to use our powers of understanding? No, for God, who gave us those powers, expects us to use them in serving him. (Romans 12:1) But on what do we lean, or depend? If our thinking fails to harmonize with God's, do we accept his wisdom for what it is-infinitely superior to ours? (Isaiah 55:8, 9) To trust in the LORD means to let his thinking guide our own.

Proverbs 3:6 also indicates that we should take notice of our heavenly father "in all our ways", not only when we face difficult situations. So the day-to-day decisions we make in life should reflect our trust in the God of the Bible. When problems arise, we should not despair, panic, or resist God's guidance regarding the best way to handle matters.

We need to view trials as opportunities to support God's sovereignty, to help prove Satan a liar (Proverbs 27:11), and to build obedience and other qualities that please God.-Hebrews 5:7, 8.

We can show our trust in God no matter what obstacles may loom before us. We do so in our prayers and in the way we look to His Word, the Bible, and to his congregation for guidance.

Verse 10 of Isaiah 41 states: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed (other translations "gaze about"), for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. "

When we go through life we want to travel with God hand-in-hand. If, as verse 10 says that he has us with his right hand... then he must be holding on to our LEFT hand as we move each day.

Now go to verse 13... " For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. "

While he is holding onto our LEFT hand he reaches over and grabs our RIGHT hand... much as a parent does when he is teaching his toddler to walk. He is holding onto BOTH of our hands saying "do not gaze about".

In effect he is saying that we need to constantly look at him in all we do. That is the only way we can have any measure of success. To check his written word, the Bible, when we make any decision. We need to check his commandments AND his Bible Principles if we want to have a stress-free, successful life.