Do not rely on your own understanding.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
In this world, there are many things that we cannot understand with our own wisdom. One of those things, I would say, is "the human heart." The reason is that the human heart is something that we truly cannot comprehend with our own wisdom. Especially when we look at the hearts of Christians, sometimes it seems like we love God with all our hearts, but at other times, our love for God grows cold, and when we face adversity, we see how we complain and grumble against God with our hearts and lips. This is something we cannot fully understand with our wisdom. What’s even more difficult to understand is that our hearts, while humbly serving God, giving Him glory, and boasting in Him, can become proud when we receive praise and recognition from people, causing us to think of ourselves as wise (Proverbs 3:7). It is truly incomprehensible. Our hearts are so easily corrupted, thinking evil thoughts, adopting wrong attitudes, and speaking and acting inappropriately in the sight of God. Yet, we do not even consider evil as truly evil. It is a heart that is truly difficult to understand.
Another thing that I cannot understand with my own wisdom is the "faith of Christians." We say that we love Jesus, but we do not obey His word. We say we believe in Jesus, and yet while we believe that Jesus, our Shepherd, leads us to "green pastures" and "still waters" (Psalm 23:2), we fail to think about the fact that the same Shepherd allows us to walk through the "valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23:4). Moreover, our hearts like to receive blessings from God but reject the thought of receiving calamity (Job 2:10). Right now, with our own understanding, our hearts show a form of spiritual favoritism. We like prosperity but dislike suffering; we like abundance but dislike poverty; we like blessings but dislike calamities. Spiritually biased, we favor the God of love and grace but do not like the God of holiness and justice. We prefer the merciful and compassionate God but reject the God who is angry and disciplines. With hearts and faith like these, should we continue to rely on our own understanding to live?
What is even more incomprehensible with our wisdom is God’s will or command. In 1 Kings 17, we see that God commands Elijah to hide by the brook Cherith and drink from the brook, even though there is no rain (1 Kings 17:1-4). This command of God is incomprehensible with our wisdom. How can God tell Elijah to drink from the brook when there is no rain? If there is no rain, the brook will dry up. This command would have been impossible for Elijah to obey if he had relied on his own wisdom. Indeed, the brook dried up because there was no rain (1 Kings 17:7). Then, God commands Elijah to go to Zarephath in Sidon and stay there, where a widow will provide him with food (1 Kings 17:8-9). This command is also incomprehensible from a human perspective. How could God ask Elijah to go to the home of a widow who is about to die from hunger, and for her to provide for him? If Elijah had relied on his own understanding, it would have been impossible for him to obey God’s command. The difference between God’s thoughts and ours is vast (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Yet, despite this, there are countless times when we try to fit the lofty thoughts of God, the Creator, into our low and limited understanding as creatures. As a result, we often do not fully trust God and tend to rely on ourselves, full of doubt. We also do not acknowledge God in all our ways (Proverbs 3:6). What should we do? In Proverbs 3:1, 3, and 5, we can learn three lessons:
First, we must keep God's commands with our heart.
Look at Proverbs 3:1: "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart." We must remember God's teachings and keep His commands in our hearts. Even though God's commands may not be understandable to us with our own wisdom, we must obey them in faith. Even if we cannot comprehend the deep, wide, and high will of God—why He gives us commands we cannot understand—we must believe that there is a good, pleasing, and perfect purpose behind those commands and obey them.
Second, we must engrave God's lovingkindness and truth on the tablets of our heart.
Look at Proverbs 3:3: "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." The more we obey God's commands in faith, the more His truth will be engraved on the tablets of our hearts. As we obey with faith, we experience God's lovingkindness, and His truth becomes more deeply etched into our hearts. We will not only recognize God's lovingkindness in the fact that He gave us His truth, but we will also engrave His lovingkindness in our hearts as we continue to obey His word. When God's lovingkindness and truth are engraved on our hearts, we can trust Him with all our hearts.
Finally, we must trust God with all our heart.
Look at Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." When we obey God's commands with our hearts (v. 1), and when His lovingkindness and truth are engraved on our hearts (v. 3), we realize how foolish it is to rely on our own wisdom. Therefore, we must trust God with all our hearts, not relying on our own understanding (v. 5). And we will acknowledge Him in all our ways (v. 6). When we do this, we will experience God's guidance (v. 6).
In conclusion, in the matters of the world, there are countless things that we cannot understand with our own wisdom. Among those countless things, we often fail to understand God's will. However, if we believe in the fact that we are within God's will and obey His commands with all our hearts, God will engrave His lovingkindness and truth on our hearts. And when God engraves His lovingkindness and truth on our hearts, we will be able to trust Him with all our hearts. I pray that you and I may be those who acknowledge God in all our ways and receive His guidance.