Daily Devotional For Saturday, March 28, 2026
Good day Southside. We have finished going through the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we are going to look at a passage I memorized as a child – Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight” (NASB).
This is a proverb that is rich and full of biblical truth and wisdom that helps us become more like Christ each day. Proverbs is wisdom for the unwise. Proverbs is patience for the impulsive. Proverbs is gentleness for the angry. Proverbs is for those who are willing to walk with God, not run ahead of Him. Proverbs is more than just ethical principles to follow. It is about changing our hearts into new ones because we all certainly need one. We live in such a fast-paced and rush ahead culture, often feeling we are behind and simply just trying to catch-up.
When God’s wisdom comes into our hearts, we get more than just a hint of how life is supposed to work. A first century Christian pastor by the name of Irenaeus, who was discipled by Polycarp, a disciple of John, once said this: “The glory of God is man fully alive” (Source: Kent Hughes & Raymond Ortlund, Preach The Word, "Proverbs:Wisdom That Works," p. 59). In Proverbs 3:1-4, some have taken this to imply that God is pro “heath and wealth” theology.
Nothing of this exists anywhere in Scripture (sorry Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes, and Kenneth Copeland). When we look at the life of Jesus, His life was one of poverty – not wealth. So many people have been let down and disappointed by “Christians.” They see people wearing crosses or having Christian bumper stickers but their lives do not demonstrate the Christ they claim that they are His disciple. The point of Proverbs 3:5-6 is not that a “good life” comes from our own confidence, but through a total dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. New Testament scholar Kent Hughes & Raymond Orlund writes this:
“One of my seminary professors told me about his father crossing the Susquehanna River one winter’s day. His dad did not know how thick the ice was. So he was crawling along on all fours, gingerly feeling his way forward, when he heard some racket and clatter coming up behind him. He looked back, and here came a wagon pulled by four horses, and the driver was whipping them along at a pretty good clip right across the frozen river. The guy was a local. He knew how thick the ice was. Too many Christians are like the man down on all fours, creeping along, way too cautious. Their trust in the Lord is halfhearted. Then along comes a wholehearted Christian, and he changes the tone for everyone around” (Source: Kent Hughes & Raymond Ortlund, Preach The Word, “Proverbs:Wisdom That Works,” p. 63).
The Hebrew word translated as “trust” here is [בְּטַ֣ח, betach] and it means “to throw oneself down on one’s face, to lie down spread-eagle in complete reliance.” This means we can do a “belly-flop” on God with our sins, our failures, our mistakes and all our fears. We are basing everything on the truth of the Gospel. If God were to fail or let us down, we are in big trouble (which He never will). If God comes through for us we are saved and secured. Pastor and author A.W. Tozer puts it this way:
“Pseudo-faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse. And not since Adam stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted him” (Source: A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, p. 50).
Therefore, whatever past sins, shames, embarrassments, throw yourself completely on God. No holding back. No pseudo-faith to a pseudo-Savior. Jesus is all He claimed to be – God in human flesh. Nothing is impossible for Him. Nothing is hidden from Him. He already knows and still loves you unconditionally. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less.
When you were younger and someone asked you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Did you respond with, “A person with a pseudo-faith to a pseudo-Savior”? Or, “A person who is overwhelmed with fear because God can’t be trusted!” NO! You may have said, “When I grow up I want to be a doctor, or lawyer, or nurse, or firefighter, or soldier or teacher” for example. So, who do we know we are trusting the Lord wholeheartedly?
- Is God’s Word in the Bible the basis for your decisions? The Proverb says, “. . . do not lean on your own understanding . . .” There is a difference between agreeing with God’s Word and obeying God’s Word. The demons agree with God’s Word; they simply do not obey it. We all have biases, prejudices, sins, and ideas that are contrary to God’s Word. When you are reading or hearing God’s Word, do you just “agree” with it and keep reading when it convicts you of your sin, or do you stop, confess your sin and repent from it? If we simply search the Scriptures to find passages that agree with us, then we have rejected God. If we excuse our sin and are not convicted by it, then we have rejected God’s Word. Do you let God’s Word challenge and convict you of your most innermost, deepest and even dark thoughts or do you ignore it? If you ignore it, you are ignoring God and saying, “I have no need of You. Stay out of my business!””
- Do you believe that people without Christ, or good people without Christ, still go to heaven? You may agree that people without Christ do not go to heaven, but what are you doing to slow that down by making disciples? If you think God allows “good” people to go to heaven, then not only are you wrong, but you may be in that “good” people group yourself – not truly redeemed. If you are going to “trust the Lord with all your heart,” that means you’re going to trust Him for everything God calls His truth. You will no longer distrust God, but put your trust in Him even when it does not make sense to you.
- With our sinful culture where peer pressure prevails, do you ever take a risk to obey God when it is not popular or welcomed? When was the last time you chose to obey God, be different, to go against the stream of our culture, or your peers or your family out of trusting God so that you obey God? “Trusting God with all our heart” means trusting God exclusively for every area of your life. God and His word warns us against arrogant self-assurance because it will destroy you and your walk with Him. Proverbs 26:12 says this, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (NASB). Call sin . . . sin, confessing it and repenting from it heals your sinful soul and then God will make your paths straight. God calls something sin, we today call it a “struggle.” God calls it an abomination, we call it an “addiction.” God calls it evil and we make an excuse.
New Testament scholars Kent Hughes and Raymond Orlund write this:
“Here is the irony. The more you fear the Lord, the less you will fear man. The more you depend on the Lord, the more independent you will be. The more you resemble Christ, the more an individual you will be. The more you obey Him, the freer you will be. Life will work for you with healing and refreshment” (Source: Kent Hughes & Raymond Ortlund, Preach The Word, “Proverbs – Wisdom That Works,” p. 66).
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (NASB). Most Christians have no fear of God today. If the truth were to be told, most Christians prefer the hymn, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” over the hymn, “Are You Ready For The Judgment Day?” One hymn company lists over 265 hymns about judgment alone (Hymns On Judgement). We prefer a Jesus who is our friend, not a Jesus who judges and casts people into the fires of hell.
Reflection Exercise: When it comes to Proverbs 3:5-6, how do you measure up? Do you have a fear of God or do you think God is only your buddy, your friend? Proverbs is about wisdom and the path to obtain God’s wisdom is first having a healthy fear of Him. Do you let God’s Word, the Bible, be your guide in your decisions? Do you ever take a risk to trust God when it is not socially or culturally or politically popular? Take the risk and watch God “make your paths straight.”
Scripture To Meditate On: Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone’s duty” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I need a healthy fear of You. I live my life, make my own decisions apart from You, and then have the audacity to expect You to bless my life. I really do not take my sin seriously. I rationalize it. I justify it. I excuse it all because I think You understand. Lord, please forgive me of such arrogance, pride and self-assurance. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly