Trust is the basis for all successful relationships and there is no greater or more important relationship than that with the Almighty God. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." This scripture reveals the true cornerstone in Our walk with God. That cornerstone is TRUST!

What does it mean to trust God? As we read our cornerstone scripture, we see that there are stages or steps to trusting God fully. In the following text, we will explore Proverbs 3:5-6 in detail to discover its vital message and the key to trusting God.

With all your heart... Our commitment to trust God must be sincere; it must be complete. If we are holding back, then it is not trust, it is doubt. In Mark 12:29-30, when asked what was the greatest commandment, our precious Lord Jesus said, "The most important one is this: Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all you strength." Jesus said this was the greatest commandment because every aspect of our walk with God, and level of obedience to His word, is based upon it. If we sincerely love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, then trusting Him fully for all things becomes an expression of that level of dedication and commitment.

Lean not on your own understanding... Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Trusting God is realizing that we don't have to understand all the details of what God is saying or know exactly where He is leading us: However, we must have all confidence that everything He is saying, and where He is leading, is perfect and will be fully revealed to us in His perfect timing. Sometimes God, in His wisdom, will reveal to us in detail, what He is going to do in our lives or the lives of others. God has a perfect purpose for conducting business this way. This still requires trust. For we must trust God to complete the work He has revealed to us and to provide us all things as we step out.

In all your ways acknowledge Him... We have a responsibility in practicing trust in our walk with God. Trust means action on our part. We must reflect the image of God in the decisions we make and the steps we take. Even from the beginning, God placed in the Garden of Eden the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was the initiation of a trust relationship between God and man. God wants us to love and obey Him out of our own will, not because He forces us to. Adam and Eve could have chosen to trust God's instruction, even though they did not fully understand it, or they could have chosen to doubt and wonder if God really knew what He was talking about. It was their mistrust of God that led to their sin and punishment.

He will make your paths straight... The final message in our cornerstone verse is of God leading the way as we move out. This clearly illustrates that God is not making us take the steps or pushing us, but that He is making our way straight. Meaning, that as we take the steps, God will place them on the-right-track. This is the essence of trust. We must take the step first, even if we do not fully understand the details at the time, with complete confidence that God will plant that step where it should be. This requires a healthy relationship with God and a mature understanding of the heart of God. The heart of God is such that He ALWAYS wants to give us His best. It may not seem like His best at the time, but if we truly trust Him, we know that whatever we are facing, God's rich blessings are ALWAYS sure to follow.

Where do we go from here? Our cornerstone scripture Proverbs (3:5-6) is primarily addressing God's guidance in our lives. However, God provides for all our needs, satisfies all our concerns and relieves all our fears as He leads us. Therefore, the final message in the cornerstone verse, "He will make your paths straight," means that you will not need to make a detour to the left or to the right to deal with needs, concerns and fears. Complete trust means we trust God for salvation, grace, guidance, provision, protection, healing, His constant presence and His faithfulness to His word in all things. God will bring all aspects of your life in line (making your paths straight) with His word as you truly trust Him for ALL things.