"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

I love this verse. Plain and simple. This is one that I saw a lot growing up in the church, but it did not truly resonate with me until I was in high school, and on an even deeper level in college. what does it mean to trust in the Lord with ALL of your heart? To lean NOT on your own UNDERSTANDING? To me, this means to not lean on what I know about something, someone, or even myself, but to lean on what GOD knows, and to lean on the fact that He knows far more about my opposing problem than I do.

It means to fall back into the knowledge of what His word says in the time where your emotions, fears, and insecurities are trying to shout out the still mighty voice of the Heavenly Father. Jesus knows the ins-and-outs of the human heart and soul. He knows the hurt that is embedded deeply behind the heart of the person who reacted maliciously to you. He knows the purpose for your trial, He sees the things behind the battle that we could not even IMAGINE, because sometimes we can get so caught up in ourselves, we forget there is a whole other battle being fought on our behalf, in a realm that requires faith and spiritual discernment and guidance.

What does it mean "in all your way acknowledge him and he will direct your path?" It means that every friendship you come across, every relationship you pursue, every opportunity that you seek out, seek His face in it first. How do you do that? You read the bible, and you genuinely speak to Him about it. it does not mean you have to have a full-blown revival in your dorm room (but hey if that happens, that's cool too), it means you come before the Gentle Shepherd (Isaiah 40:11) and ask Him to be present in your circumstance, relationship; whatever it may be.

You bring it before him. It is asking God "Lord if this is your will, swing open every single door, and if it is not, slam these doors shut and give me the peace not to worry about it". We can get so caught up about praying the WILL of God that we forget to seek the FACE of God. It is one thing to pray God's will over a circumstance, and another to SEEK God's will in Gods WORD.

You cannot pray outside the will of God when you are abiding within the word of God. I will be the first to say that I have prayed self-centered prayers outside the word of God, and guess what? He did not give me what I asked for; in truly His perfect time He gave me so much better. When I chose to acknowledge God in my choices and circumstances, it lead to a deeper and more intimate understanding of the goodness and sweetness that comes with the fellowship that can only come when we allow Jesus into our hearts and life circumstances, instead of blocking Him out as a result of fear that what He has to offer will not be fulfilling, or what we want.

I'll let you in on a not so little secret; what Jesus has for you is SO much greater and fulfilling than what you can EVER attain yourself! Want to know why? Because with His permission comes His peace. There was not a single time I prayed for Jesus to be present in my circumstance that peace did not follow once I chose to be obedient to where He was calling me.

When you CHOOSE to be obedient and acknowledge Christ in all of your ways, the peace that surpasses all understanding floods your mind and heart, and through time, trial, and trust, God will give you far more than you can imagine. You will never have to compromise when you are operating in God's promise. I heard a saying a few years back that said: "God will often withhold what you want the most until it finds its perfect place." Sometimes it is waiting on Gods timing, sometimes it is allowing God's hand to be the very thing that shuts one door, and swings open one beyond comprehension. Where do you need to start acknowledging God in your life?