LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, May 9, 2024

In Proverbs 22:19 we read,

               “So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you.”

Our final principle of wisdom for this week is taken from this verse:

            Let wisdom transfer your trust.

The Hebrew word for trust in this passage means security and confidence, to have a place of refuge. Understanding the relationship between wisdom and trust according to this definition produces a very simple pattern for life – know God and be secure.

Now by saying know God we are referring to much more than just the head knowledge as we discussed earlier this week. This is a heart knowledge that has involved an act of the will to accept what we know as truth and surrender our life to it. When that happens, we are empowered to transfer our trust to that truth, and the promise of God is that the truth will never fail, nor will it fail us.

Read these examples of trust from the Proverbs, each one using the same root word for trust from today’s key verse:

     3:5-6 – “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.”

14:26 – “He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.”

     16:20 – “Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.”

     28:1 – “The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”

     28:25-26 – “A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper. He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.”

29:25 – “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”    

We need to deeply appreciate the significance of these words – words like secure fortress, refuge, kept safe, and bold. The problem I have is that there are too many times in my life when these words don’t describe me, but rather words like scared, worried, insecure, fearful seem to fit my behavior better. What are we to do in those situations? There is a simple answer, and it brings us full circle in this week’s principles – Let wisdom transcend all else and be transmitted to you because it will transfer your trust from self to God.

For us to be able to transfer our trust from whatever the world offers to everything God offers, we must have first decided that His Word is trustworthy, and that it will transcend all else in trustworthiness – it transcends my understanding, the world’s understanding, and anything the world’s knowledge has ever been able to accomplish. This kind of trust only comes through a study of God’s Word and an acceptance of its truth.

The teaching of the Word of God and its wisdom is all the light we need for life, and it is totally trustworthy. Transfer your dependence from whatever it is in the world you now trust to Jesus Christ. He alone is trustworthy, and able to make your life secure, confident, and safe.

 Pastor John