Every so often we hear someone tries to get the saying, “In God we trust” taken off our money. I have a tendency to laugh because I trust God a lot more than I do money. Chase after money and it seems to get farther and farther away. Take God away and anything in which we might try to trust will just crumble. Yet many trust anything but God.
In our Christian walk we often end up trusting what we do or what we know. One or the other becomes the basis for our walk instead of Christ. Knowledge about Christ isn’t trust in Christ. Legalism isn’t trust in Christ either. Each are a part trust but cannot be the whole. We need to know Christ and we need to obey Christ which reflects our trust. They need to be blended together to make a strong trust. But the blend needs to have more than those two ingredients.
Proverbs 3 teaches that we need to know and obey. But central to this teaching is that we need God-to make sense of what we know, to make sense of who we obey. Knowledge without God’s guidance can lead to poor decisions. Obedience without God in sight just is empty. Trust God, submit to God, fear God, and honor God are all actions Proverbs 3 mentions that we are instructed to have. They all are a part of our relationship with God. They result in a better knowledge of God and obedience to God. They result in a trust of God that can not be shaken. Having a relationship with God is the goal, the one to whom we move. Let us know the Lord, let us obey the Lord, let us trust in the Lord. Let’s move.
Name the things you trust and rate then from 1, the most trusted to 100, the least trusted. Is God in the list and where? Do your actions reflect that rating?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways submit to God
and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6
