Lord’s Day Meditation – What to Do

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him [as Lord], and He shall direct your paths.

Prov. 3:5-6

This passage literally tells us what to do about everything! (Note the double “all” that covers everything on the inside of us–our hearts, and everything on the outside–our ways.)

What to Do with All Your Heart

The heart of man, in biblical terms, is the inner self, including the rational mind, the will and emotions, as well as our values and desires. In our hearts we are to centre our trust in God. Proverbs exhorts each of us: Trust in Jehovah God, put your full confidence in Him. Have faith in God and don’t be afraid.

The opposite, to be avoided, is leaning on our own understanding. This does not mean we are to exercise a blind, presumptuous faith, and not use the power to think and reason that God gave us. But we are not to rely and depend (or “lean”) upon our own mental powers. What our fallible opinions must not be the bottom line.

This even applies to our understanding of God Himself. As an infinite Being, He will always be far above our full understanding. Where is our faith to be placed? Not in our own understanding of Him, but in God Himself, whether we fully understand or not! Hudson Taylor said: “Trust in the Lord is not heavy baggage, and it never fails.”

What to Do with All Your Ways

While the heart speaks of the inner self, ways and paths have to do with our outward experiences, the events and actions that make up the practical outworking of our daily lives. And where our inward response is to be faith, our outward response, intimately connected with this, will be obedience. To “acknowledge” God is, I believe, to own and recognize Him as Lord, giving earnest heed to His will for us.

Our daily lives are should involve a walk of obedience that consistently acknowledges His Lordship. Then we may be assured that He will direct us in the best way, showing us the path to take, and dealing with any obstacles and dangers ahead, in order to bring us to our goal. And what is that? It is the achievement of His purpose for us, to His own glory and honour.

Thomas Chisholm’s 1937 gospel song is based on this text.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
This is God’s gracious command;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
So shall you dwell in the land.

Trust in the Lord, O troubled soul,
Rest in the arms of His care;
Whatever your lot, it mattereth not,
For nothing can trouble you there;
Trust in the Lord, O troubled soul,
Nothing can trouble you there.