Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Trust. Faith. Reliance. Hope. Dependence. Confidence. Conviction. Belief. 

These are more than words; they are experiences, feelings, and actions of the heart that place the believer in the appropriate position before God. Believers trust in Christ as the One who paid the penalty for their sin by his death on the cross. And we continue to trust him for all we need spiritually and physically.   

Trusting in the Lord does not mean we are excused from actively pursuing a prudent life. Faith does not abandon reason. God gave us a mind to study his Word and to filter our thinking through it. Faith does not discard action. God gave us hands and feet to go and do the things he has called us to do. 

Faith demands our participation…as followers, not as the leader. Ultimately, we submit our actions, desires, present, and future to the sovereign God, the Maker of heaven and earth. We understand that all we do is totally dependent on him, and we acknowledge that dependence in every area of our lives, trusting in him to make our paths straight.

Father, teach us what true faith is. May we move from depending on ourselves to total dependence on you. Help us participate fully as followers. May we acknowledge you as the Leader over all our lives.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.