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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.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

Trust. Trust is a funny word. Not because it’s humorous to trust but because trust likes to put us in humorous predicaments. When we place complete confidence in someone or something outside of ourselves, it forces us to let go of control, to suspend what we believe is reality, and to lean into the unknown. Growing up at summer camp, counselors would make us practice trust using a trust fall – an activity where a team of friends line up below you prepared to catch as you fully lean your weight backward to fall into their arms. Most of the time the activity ran smoothly just as long as the person falling was a person of trust. Some campers would squirm and struggle for a while because their trust was being tested.

Trust comes easy for some people. Oftentimes, kids growing up in healthy families learn to trust quickly, which can put them into precarious situations because they’re still naïve. But, young children must learn trust before they can learn discernment. Erik Erikson says trust is the first stage of psychosocial development – between birth and 18 months. Even as little humans, we come into the world wondering who and what we can trust? When we get older, our trust is tested and sometimes even betrayed. At that point, we often turn to control rather than walking in trust. For some reason, it feels easier to lean into our own understanding and place trust in ourselves. Ironically, we genuinely want others to trust us but when it comes to trusting others or trusting God, we think twice.

The wisdom in Proverbs 3:5-8 invites us to develop a healthy psychosocial relationship with God. Trust begins when we lean away from our own understanding. This means letting go of control and developing a healthy skepticism of self. We probably won’t have all the answers, we most likely won’t find wisdom within ourselves, and we most certainly won’t reach health and wholeness alone. Instead, when we place our trust in God, we lean with confidence unto his character and trustworthiness. Just like the person falling into their friend’s arms, we lean toward the awe and risk of God by placing ourselves in situations where God alone must show up. Sometimes this will make us look crazy, but this is the way of wisdom. Trusting God is the key to walking in wisdom. Use Proverbs 3:5-8 as your prayer today. Write out these verses in your own words as you listen to Will Reagan’s prayerful song, Nothing I Hold Unto.[/vc_column_text][us_separator height=”25px” size=”custom”][vc_column_text 0=””]

By Yvonne Biel  

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