Don’t Lean On Your Own Understanding

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

Have you ever wondered why ladder manufacturers warn against standing on the top rung of a ladder? (You’re not living until you find yourself pondering inane things.) I have! But a quick Google search put an end to my wondering and actually confirmed what I thought may be the reason. Turns out, standing on the top rung increases the risk of you falling because your center of gravity is higher and there is less stability on this most narrow rung.

Perhaps that’s why in Proverbs 3:5 King Solomon warns against leaning on our own understanding—we could fall. Trying to figure out on our own what God is doing and why is like standing on the very narrow top rung of a ladder.  There, we’re not in a position to be properly grounded (higher center of gravity) and we risk hitting hard and leaving a big mess when we fall. Also, there’s no stability in our understanding as it is limited and waxes and wanes because we’re human compared to the unchanging and immeasurable understanding God has.

It is interesting to note that Solomon begins this verse by saying, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart” and then goes on to warn about leaning on our own understanding. The order of these commands becomes even more interesting in light of trying to understand the recent devastating fires in Maui and California, or even the floods in Western North Carolina this past September.

If we are trusting God with all our heart, we cannot also lean on our own understanding of what God is doing and why. While some truths can exist at the same time—being sad about something that is ending but also feeling hopeful for what could come—trusting God AND leaning on our own understanding cannot. Solomon was underscoring to his son that trusting God means fully trusting Him in times where nothing seems to makes sense, but especially in times where we think we know what God is doing. If we lean on our own understanding we aren’t fully trusting God. We can lean so much that we fall and leave nothing but a big ol’ mess.

Sometimes that mess only occurs in our own lives. But when we try to figure out what God is doing and why and then share that so-called “knowledge” as truth with others, we cause a big mess for them. This has been my personal experience after the tragedies in Maui, California, and Western North Carolina. Others have caused a big mess for me—confusion, anxiety, fear—as I listened to them recite scripture and “explain” why this fire or that flood is happening.

Do you remember that one of the reasons you shouldn’t stand on the top rung of a ladder is because you’re not properly grounded because of the higher center of gravity?  Well, I wasn’t properly grounded in God’s Word and that is why anxiety and fear quickly took over as I listened to some of the videos circulating on social media. Sadly, I put more stock in what they were saying about God’s Word than I did in what God’s Word says.

Let me explain.

The Bible tells us in very understandable language what we are to look for in the last days and it is true that ALL the things that have happened recently (earthquakes, floods, fires, lover of self, etc.) are in the Bible as signs, but when I hear some people reading from Revelations, or other books of the Bible, it is as though they are weaponizing Scripture instead of sharing Scripture in love. They seem to be sitting on their own judgement throne condemning those who haven’t yet put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I believe when we act this way we are leaning on our own understanding. NONE of us know what God is doing through all this or why. We only know that these are signs that Jesus is coming back soon.

I believe we should also take these events as a sign to pray for the salvation of those who haven’t yet put their faith and trust in Jesus. These fires and floods are horrific enough just watching on the news. I can’t imagine the depth of the horror in actually having to live that reality. Even more horrific than living through this hell on earth though is being in actual hell eternally separated from God.

If I had been properly grounded in God’s Word to begin with, the words of others wouldn’t have had so much power over me. I would have been able to immediately start praying for those affected by these tragedies instead of fearing what was going to happen to me because the world is going to hell in a hand basket. As a believer in Jesus Christ I’m not going to hell at all, so I should be rejoicing that we are seeing happen what God said would happen. I have no reason to be afraid and every reason to pray for the salvation of others.

My dear friend, it is God’s battle and we don’t know when it will end, but we do know who wins.  To that end, we should be trusting God—we already have the victory. So, if you have been overwhelmed with all the posts on social media or the news stations, turn it off and turn on your trust in God.  Only He understands what is happening and why.

It may seem like things are falling apart, but we can trust God with our whole heart that they are actually falling into place. Don’t take my word for it though, read His.