With All Of My Heart

When I was growing up, the verse we heard all the time was Proverbs 3:5-6. It was my daddy’s favorite verse and we learned it from the time we could memorize. He would quote it to us through all situations. As we got older, we knew his advice would always end with “Trust in the LORD with all time heart…”

My favorite verses change through different seasons of life. But I have found more often than not, that through whatever I’m going through, this verse remains one of the best life verses you can have.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

There is a precious promise in this verse. HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS. Not one, but multiple. Every path in life, He has promised to direct. That’s a comfort. Because sometimes I don’t know where to go or what to do. Sometimes, I can’t see the path ahead of me. I don’t know which one has the best ending. What will be best for me, for my family. But He does. Even if I could see the end of the pathway, I wouldn’t see the grand scheme of my life. So to rest in knowing that He will direct me is wonderful.

But while this verse makes a promise, it also comes with conditions. Trust in the Lord with ALL thine heart; in ALL thy ways acknowledge Him.

The definition of all is all. There’s no halfway or some of the time. All.

That’s ok when God’s way lines up with mine. When I can see clearly why He wants me to go a certain way. But when the way grows dark, or I want to go somewhere differently, I’m not following the conditions of this verse. I’m not promised He will lead me. And that’s scary.

Here’s my struggle. It is scary to think of where God’s path might lead me. Into more pain, more difficulty, more struggle. So do I really want to surrender it all to Him? But it’s also scary to think of His guiding hand being still because I’ve chosen not to let Him lead. So I have to ask myself, would I rather Him lead me through the scary unknown, or go through the happy known alone? (I know as a Christian, he never leaves me. But His guidance and blessings will not be with me if I choose my way over His. And who knows what it will take to get back to where He wants me after I’ve wandered?)

There are other times, though, that my trust has to be blind. And that is perhaps the scariest of all. When I want his guidance, but I can’t see. He’s taken me down a path that twists. And all I can see is Him. Sometimes, I can’t even really see Him. I don’t know where He’s leading, I can’t see what He’s doing or where we’re going. That seems to be the theme of my blog. Every blog post seems to have the same message. I started not to even write this one because I feel as if maybe I’ve already told this just in a different way. But that’s how life is. So many twists and turns, different stories but in the end it all comes down to my trust in Him.

This memory came up today and I love these words.

“God is teaching me so much about really trusting Him. Fully. Completely.

Without suggestions or projections I just need to embrace the very next thing He shows me. And then the next.

Though the long path is uncertain, He’s so faithful to shed just enough light to see the very next step.

This isn’t Him being mysterious. This is a great demonstration of His mercy.

Too much revelation and we’d pridefully run ahead of Him. Too little and we’d be paralyzed with fear.

So I’m seeking slivers of His light just for today and filling the gaps of the unknown with trust.”
– Lysa TerKeurst

Seeking slivers of His light and filling the gaps of the unknown with trust.

My daddy had asked me a while back to write him a song about Proverbs 3:5-6. I tried a little bit every day, but no words would come. I wanted it to be a good song. But the harder I tried, the more I came up with nothing. And it wasn’t because I didn’t need a song about trust, because I do desperately. But still, nothing. Yesterday morning, I just started writing verses down about trust. And before I even got up out of bed, God gave me the words.

As I’m going to the piano to finish the tune, I get 2 separate messages. One was from a friend that I’d been praying for. She messaged me to let me know God had answered her in a big way. And I was so happy. The second one shared some really great news. I’m happy for both of these. I would not want to trade their answers and happiness just to get mine. But it’s so easy to get discontented. Especially when you’re in that dark pathway, not knowing when or if you’ll ever get to the end. I started thinking to myself, when is it my turn? When was the last time we were happy and excited about something without there being dark clouds just hovering above us? I know I’m not the only one. My pathway seems littered with one problem after another. It doesn’t seem like I get too far and have to stop and move something else out of the way.

But if I’m trusting with all my heart and in all my ways, then He is walking in front of me. And He has not moved those obstacles. Who knows what all He has moved, but for whatever reason, He still leaves some things behind for me to walk through.

And no sooner than those thoughts came, He directed my eyes down to my paper, where not 30 minutes ago, I had written: With all of my heart I will trust You, Your ways are higher than mine. I know the depths of Your mercy will reach down and catch me in time. I will not lean on my own understanding, it only takes me so far. You work beyond what my mind can imagine, so I will trust You with all of my heart.

My understanding is limited. It only goes so far. But He works in ways beyond what my mind can imagine, what my heart could ever dream!

If you’re a graduate reading this, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re dating or engaged or newly married, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re fixing to have a new baby, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re facing doctor visits and an unknown diagnosis, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re alone, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re somewhere in life that doesn’t make sense, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re not sure which way to go, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re just struggling with keeping up from day to day, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

If you’re already doing that and you find yourself in the darkness, stumbling over the obstacles in your path, trying to fill in the gaps with trust, TRUST HIM EVEN MORE.

If you’re reading this, no matter your situation, TRUST HIM. LET HIM LEAD.

In all thy ways… with all thine heart.

His heart, His ways, His path can be trusted.