Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
The fool trusts only their own understanding. Only what they can see, hear, and touch. Only what they can understand, explain, make sense of. They place their hope, faith, and trust in what they know, even though they will never know everything. They live their own truth, follow their own heart, and believe in themselves. All the while failing to see that “know thyself” is an impossible task – the heart is desperately wicked, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
But the wise do not lean on their own understanding. They choose to see the unseen. They choose to believe in the invisible, hidden God. They choose to be OK with not understanding everything. Even about God.
The modern atheist denies God because he can’t prove God. She denies Christ because she can’t explain the incarnation, the miracles, the resurrection, the glory.
But the Christians knows that understanding everything ABOUT God and his Christ has never been the goal. Rather understanding everything else in the world THROUGH God and his Christ is the goal.
We don’t fully understand the Trinity, but through the Trinity we understand love.
We don’t fully understand the incarnation, but through the incarnation we understand ourselves.
We don’t fully understand the cross, but through the cross we understand sacrifice.
We don’t fully understand the resurrection, but through the resurrection we understand life.
We don’t fully understand our union with Christ, but through our union with Christ we understand everything else.
You: In what ways have you been leaning on your own understanding lately?
You in Christ: How does your union with Christ allow you to understand big questions like your purpose, meaning, destiny, origin?
Christ in you: Is there anything that you need to stop trying to understand and simply trust Jesus’ love for you instead?
Pray: Father, you are beyond my understanding, but by your Son I can understand your heart for me. Help me to see everything through the lens of Christ and his cross. Amen.
To Live is Christ 