Proverbs: Wise Words for Wise Living

Sunday, June 15^th 2025

Proverbs 3:5–6

Introduction

Trust God with All Your Heart and Don’t Exalted Your Own Wisdom.

1. Trust God Wholeheartedly

Trust – (batcha) means to put your full weight on something— completely surrendered. It’s not casual or partial. It’s a deep, confident, and committed reliance.

“This trust is not the mere cold assent of enlightened judgment. It is trust … with all your heart. It is a childlike, unwavering confidence in our Father’s well-proved wisdom, faithfulness, and love.” C. Bridges

Heart - commonly refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reason, but also includes the emotions, the will and thus, the whole inner being.

What part of your heart are you still holding back from God? The more we know His character—His faithfulness, love, and power—the more we will trust Him.

1. Surrender Your Understanding

“…do not lean on your own understanding…”

Why? Because our understanding is limited.

Are you leaning too heavily on your own reasoning today? God's wisdom is higher than ours. Trusting Him means admitting: “God, you know better than I do.”

• Acknowledge Him Constantly

“…In all your ways acknowledge him…”

Acknowledge - means to know Him intimately and personally. To honor Him in every part of life!

We acknowledge God when we pray before we act, when we obey even when it’s hard, when we ask, “Lord, what would You have me do?” instead of, “What do I want to do?”

1. God’s Promise To Us

“…He will make straight your paths.”

This is not a vague blessing. It is a promise

This doesn’t mean the path will always be smooth or easy. But it means it will be purposeful and God-ordained.

Psalm 23 says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

1. Jesus and Proverbs 3:5–6

Jesus Is the Lord We Are Called to Trust

John 14:1 — “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”
John 20:28 — Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus Modeled Perfect Trust in the Father

Jesus exemplified that trust perfectly during His earthly life: He trusted the Father’s will in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11). He trusted God’s timing, even when others wanted Him to act sooner (John 7:6–8). In Gethsemane, He prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). On the cross, He cried, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

Acknowledging Jesus in All Our Ways

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32

Jesus Straightens Our Path

John 14:6 — “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus Is the Living Fulfillment of Proverbs 3:5–6

To trust in the Lord is to trust in Jesus. To acknowledge Him is to follow Him daily as Savior and Lord. And when we do, He faithfully leads us—making our paths straight toward righteousness, peace, and eternal life.

Conclusion

Proverbs 3:5–6 invites us to stop carrying the burden of trying to figure everything out.

It tells us: You don’t have to know the whole plan. You don’t have to be in control. You don’t have to see the destination. You just have to TRUST the One who does.