Tuesday March 27
Read Proverbs 3:5. What crucial message is there for us, especially in the last part, about not “leaning” on our own understanding? (See also Isaiah 55:9, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 13:12.)
The motto and aim of God’s stewards is to “trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, NKJV).
Of course, that’s often easier said than done. How often might we intellectually believe in God and in His love and care for us, and yet worry ourselves sick over something that we are facing? Sometimes the future can appear very scary, at least in our own imaginations.
How, then, do we as stewards learn to trust in God? By stepping out in faith and obeying the Lord in all that we do now. Trust is an action of the mind that is not depleted with use; on the contrary, the more we trust the Lord the more our trust will grow. Living as faithful stewards is a way to express our trust in God. This trust is the foundation and driving force of the steward, and it becomes visible by what we do.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” The phrase “your heart” is always used figuratively in Scripture. It means that our decisions come from an inner moral self that makes up who we are (Matthew 22:37). This includes our character, motives, and intentions - the very core of our being.
It’s easier to trust God with the things that you can’t control. In that sense we have no choice but to trust in Him. Instead, real trust “from the heart” comes when we have to make a choice regarding something that we can control, and when our trust in God will cause us to choose one way or the other.
The apostles illustrate trusting God with all their hearts: “They were by nature as weak and helpless as any of those now engaged in the work, but they put their whole trust in the Lord. Wealth they had, but it consisted of mind and soul culture; and this every one may have who will make God first and last and best in everything.” - Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, p. 25.
It is true that it’s easier to trust in God concerning the things that you cannot control. But what about things you can control? What choices might you need to make in which your trust in God will determine which way you do choose?
