Fighter Verses

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
(Proverbs 3:5-7)

We hear this passage quoted often, don’t we? But when was the last time you really stopped to think about the words you were saying? The truth is, these three verses contain sweet gospel grace for us, if we would take the time to step back and think about what they are truly saying.

Verse 5

The construction of verse 5 indicates that the converse of leaning on human understanding is leaning on God’s understanding. We must ask, however, whether this observation is biblically warranted, and whether it is helpful in our understanding of this passage. I would argue that this assertion is both biblically warranted and, in fact, crucial to our understanding of this text.

The reason I think so is because of Proverbs 3:7, which says, “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.” We know from just a few chapters earlier that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7).” The clear inference is that to be a fool is to lean on one’s own wisdom, which is learned through being continually wise in one’s own eyes, and to be wise is to lean on God’s wisdom, which is learned through continually fearing him.

Verse 6

Next, verse 6 begs us to ask, why should we acknowledge the LORD in all our ways? How does that lead to the LORD making our paths straight? And why does verse 7 say that the LORD is to be feared? These are important questions to ask, because their answer is the key to understanding this passage as a whole.

The logic of Proverbs is that you can either take the foolish path and lean on your own understanding, or you can take the wise path and trust in the LORD with all your heart. So, you ask, what is the foolish alternative to acknowledging the LORD in all your ways? I think it’s being continually wise in your own eyes.

The truly wise man understands that God is wise, sovereign, and worthy of his total submission. The wise man acknowledges with trembling that he is fully deserving of all of YHWH’s righteous wrath, and that he is in no position to assume the grace of the LORD. The person who has this humble, reverent demeanor is walking the path of the wise man. The LORD will make straight the path of the wise man (Proverbs 3:6) because he will be oriented in such a God-honoring way as to know God’s will and so be given the desires of his heart, because they will be after God’s own heart (Psalm 37:4, Matthew 6:33).

Encouragement

These verses are for your encouragement, believer. The LORD is your Father, and he has only good in store for you. Hear him speak tenderly to you right now through the words of Proverbs 1:8-9, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.”

As your Father, YHWH wants to make straight your path. He wants to adorn your life with grace. So ask the LORD to give you a heart of dependence, worship and love toward him. That is the life of joy that Proverbs invites us to live.