READ: Proverbs 3:5-6, 16:20, 29:26
In the previous
devotional, we considered how central God is in everything. As a result, our
call is to fear Him. But what is a proper fear of the Lord? Certainly it has to
do with making godly choices. However, it is much bigger than this, really.
There is something that supports a fear of the Lord. What is it? Trust. To be able to fear God, we must trust Him.
We must BELIEVE that He is worthy to be followed and submitted to.
Probably the most
famous verse in Proverbs is, “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding” (3:5). We’re invited here to stop leaning on our own thinking and
“figuring out of things”. This is trusting in self! We are to bring ALL of our
hearts to God (this means every topic of concern, all our dreams, etc.) and
say, “I trust you.” If we develop a simple, childlike faith, we’ll find
immediate growth in our fear of the Lord.
While we’re
always tempted to trust self, over God (which is so foolish, really!), we can
also be aggressively wooed by the temptation to trust or seek to please others.
Be warned – this gives God competition! Or as Proverbs so powerfully notes,
“the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe” (29:25).
Our safety lies in trusting God, and fearing His Name. Trust in anything else
will leave us feeling empty in the end, possibly frustrated, or even worse,
spiritually bankrupt. This is one of the primary messages of Proverbs.
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
- Read over Proverbs 3:5-6 again. Spend some time meditating and
journaling on many of the words. In many ways, the Christian life could be
summed up somewhat by these two verse.
- Ask God where in your life right now is there an opportunity to
trust Him at a deeper level than you ever have in the past. Ask Him to
strengthen you for this journey.
