Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes.
fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
Devotion
Bob Dylan has a song named trust yourself. One of the lyrics says this:
Trust yourself
Trust yourself to know the way that will prove true in the end
Trust yourself
Trust yourself to find the path where there is no if and when
Don’t trust me to show you the truth
When the truth may only be ashes and dust
If you want somebody you can trust, trust yourself.
The world we live in is self-centered and all sufficient. Many believe that we can find our own answers to our problems or can do things without God. Trusting God comes from your heart. I am not talking physical heart in our bodies, but our deepest feelings. The heart is the center of life that rules our feelings, wisdom and skills. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.” There are many things in this world that we could trust. We could trust riches, fame, our own desires, others opinions of us, and the list could go on and on. This proverb is saying to trust the Lord with all your heart. It gets more difficult to do this in times of affliction, pain, temptation, and darkness. But God is good and right and just. As we trust with our hearts, it gives us an assurance and joyful knowledge of peace and safety as he watches over us with love.
Ultimately, we are trusting in Jesus the son of God for his acceptance, righteousness and for justification of our sins. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.” If we continually acknowledge Him, he will direct our paths. Paths to a hope and a future in Him.
As we trust the Lord from our heart, we also fear the Lord from our heart. Trusting and a healthy fear of the Lord will bring health to your flesh and strength to your bones. The KJV says this it shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. Bone marrow is a soft substance that fills cavities in the center of the bone. Bone marrow makes 200 billion new blood cells every day. Stem cells divide and produce new cells. Stem cells rapidly multiply to make millions of blood cells each day. Once mature, these cells migrate from the marrow into the blood stream where they provide important functions required to keep the body alive and healthy. Marrow to thy bones is a metaphorical expression to our spiritual lives. Like our bodies need bone marrow to survive, we need to be spiritually strong to survive by trusting and fearing the Lord. What marrow is to the bones that is wisdom or fear of God to the souls of all. What happens if the bone marrow is not functioning properly? One is likely to need a bone marrow transplant. What happens if our spiritual life is not functioning properly? Trust in the Lord. This brings us back to our scripture today. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.
Take a few minutes to reflect on this song, Trust in You.
written by Majors Shaun & Kimberly Belanger, Candidates’ Department, USA East
