Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
When I read something like Proverbs 3:5-6, my first response is something along the lines of, “what exactly does it mean to trust in the Lord? How do I know I’m really trusting Him? What does it actually look like?” I love taking questions like these and laying them before the Lord. Here you go, Father! You said this, now I’m asking You to teach me personally. What does this mean? He loves it when we invite Him into a deeper place of instruction.
The Holy Spirit led me to the key to trusting in the Lord (as in Proverbs 3:5-6) one day as I was reading Proverbs 22:17-19. I want you to notice the connection between the two passages (I’ve underlined the key point in Proverbs 22:19).
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
Proverbs 22:17-19
Hey, I thought. This is the key to trusting in the Lord! This is how you do it!
It’s one thing to say, “I’m trusting in the Lord,” but, again, what does that actually look like in reality? I’m going to introduce five simple keys here that will get you thinking about what it means to truly trust in the Lord.
Key #1: Bow down your ear. In the Hebrew language (the original Old Testament text), the word used for bow is the word natah, which means to stretch out, to spread out, to turn, incline to, bend down towards, or extend towards something.
Key #2: Hear the words of the wise. The word hear is the Hebrew word šāmaʿ, which means to hear with attention or interest, to obey, and to be obedient to what you have just heard. Words of the wise here are the words dāḇār ḥāḵām, which describe the speech, utterance, or manner (dāḇār) of the wise: the skillful, shrewd, crafty, learned, and prudent man (ḥāḵām).
Key #3: Apply your heart to God’s knowledge. These words carry the idea of setting, stationing, and fixing your heart and taking a stand on God’s knowledge. This means that, no matter what the world, news media, and others around you are calling knowledge and wisdom, you are to stand firmly on God’s Word. That is a powerful (and controversial) place to be in the culture today.
Key #4: Keep God’s Words within you. To keep them means to guard, keep watch over, preserve, and protect God’s Words that you have sown in your heart through reading the Bible and time spent communing with God. Within describes the deepest place in your spirit, soul, and body–this means it takes serious effort to ensure that God’s Words are permanently cemented into your very DNA.
Key #5: Let them be fixed upon your lips. You don’t just hide God’s Word in your heart and keep them locked up in there! Speak God’s Words out of your mouth and you will begin to shift the world around you (and within you) with the power of God’s creative Words. Recall that He spoke and everything existed. Words are the vehicles upon which faith can be released from the spirit and out into the natural realm. Speak the Word!
I encourage you to think about each one of these five keys and begin to put them into practice, starting today! When we take these five simple keys to heart and begin to practice them, the Bible says that our “trust may be in the Lord.” I think this is great. The Bible so practical! He will always give us the best instruction on how to fulfill His Word.
I know this was a brief overview of the five keys, but I want to just whet your appetite with these concepts for the moment. I want you to think deeply about them. See what other Scripture references come to mind as you read and study these keys. The next time you think of the phrase “trust in the Lord,” I pray that you will consider these verses and what is really going on behind the scenes when you begin to truly trust in the Lord.
I pray this insight becomes a springboard for your personal study of these verses, and that you are encouraged to trust in the Lord in a deeper way today!