What does it mean to trust in the Lord with all your heart?
Trust is defined as an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth; one in which confidence is placed; dependence on something future or contingent: Hope.
It is interesting and helpful to look at how translations compare:
Proverbs 3:5 –
- Bible in Basic English (BBE) Put all your hope in God, not looking to your reason for support.
- Good News Translation (GNT) Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.
- The Message (MSG) Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Psalm 37:3 (NKJV) Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
We trust in the Lord because we know He is able to accomplish the things we’re asking Him to do. We have confidence in Him because we know He’s reliable and can be trusted. When we trust in the Lord, we put our confidence in Him because we know that He is a safe place to hide.
Isaiah 26:3 (ESV) You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Psalm 56:3 (ESV) When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
We can trust Christ because He never changes. He doesn’t go back on His word; He doesn’t say what He doesn’t mean. And the same God who created the universe and put a plan of salvation in place, is the same God we worship now.
Psalm 37:5 (ESV) “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act”
When we trust in God and are committed to Him, He acts on our behalf. This doesn’t mean that He gives us everything we ask for regardless of the impact it will have on our lives, but like a good Father, He gives us everything we need.
To put it simply, trusting in God means believing what He says about Himself, about the world and about you is true and unchangeable. Trust is a choice, not a feeling.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT) “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”