What is the Key?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart…

Proverbs 3:5

I like bullet points, precise summaries and clear applications. I am a simple woman who likes complex things reduced to the simplest terms and the most clear, neat and tidy endings. So it is no surprise that as I finished studying the book of Proverbs, I began to look for a summary verse….a how-to section to pull it all together for me.

Since the very beginning of my study, I felt that the key verse to the book of Proverbs was from chapter 9, verse 10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is echoed in the first chapter as well as in themes throughout the book. But this truth is a bit elusive to me. It lacks the practical how-to that I need to put feet on it in my daily walk.

I found the needed nugget in chapter 3. Three verses sum up, in very practical terms, the heart and the soul of the truths found in Proverbs: 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 (v.5,6,7).

The fear of the Lord is explained simply as trusting in the Lord with all your heart, acknowledging him in all your ways. The phrases, ‘do not lean on your own understanding’, ‘be not wise in your own eyes’, and ‘turn away from evil’ are practical descriptors of wisdom. Living out the truths of these verses is a daily challenge. It is a walk of humility and simplicity. Notice that this call is an “all-in” call. It is trusting with ALL your heart and acknowledging him in ALL your ways. There is no room for half-hearted commitment.

Thank you, Lord, for the clarity of your Word. Help me to live in complete trust and utter reliance on your wisdom and not my own.
Jill Hardin