Proverbs 3

This is a picture by a singer named Strahan
I feel it symbolizes what my relationship with God should be

For the past couple of days, I have been dwelling on Proverbs 3. A friend of mine told me that he’s read a Proverb a day for at least the past 5 years and he’s seen significant growth in his life because of it. He suggested that I read a Proverb a day because it would help me see a lot of things that I have been dealing with in my life for the past couple of months with some clarity. So reluctantly (because if you know me you know that I don’t like being told what to do), I started reading it a couple of weeks ago and here I am in chapter 3 because ya know, life happens…

The title of Proverbs 3 is “Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart”. Throughout the chapter, we are commanded to not forget God and are given reasons and ways to trust in the Lord. For example, verse 1 starts out by saying “My son, do not forget my teaching but let your heart keep my commandments.” King Solomon is writing this to his son and the teaching and commandments that he’s giving his son aren’t things that he’s written out himself, they’re teachings from the Lord. Another verse where the son is commanded are verses 25 and 26. They say, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”

It also explains why we should trust in the Lord. Verse 24 says “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” This verse reminded me a lot of Psalm 127:2 which says “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

Last Thursday I had a phone call with a friend. When I got done talking to her she told me that in her 4 years of knowing me she’d never heard me sound so distressed, discouraged, and pessimistic. Honestly, I thought she was kinda crazy, but as I began to think about what she said I realized that she was right. Not only had the canceling of classes made me super sad but an entire melancholic season that I had experienced during my last year of college had made me view God in a way as if He was intentionally making life hard to show me He loved me. Now mentally I knew this probably wasn’t true. I knew God loved me just for who He made me to be. It’s the basis of what I believed but somewhere along the way I spiritually stopped believing it.

I think I usually view God as a chastiser and someone who disciplines me as a form of love but only after I overcome the obstacle that he’s placed in front of me.

So when the Lord revealed to me that that’s how I experience him and I read this chapter I started to realize the disparity within my life. Do I trust in the Lord with all my heart as verse 5 says? Do I experience this sweet sleep that it talks about? Do I feel as though the Lord will keep my foot from being caught or do I feel as though he’s the one who set the trap?

There’s a lot to unpack here but I’m thankful that the Lord has revealed it to me so that I can, with His help and the help of my community, begin to unpack and relearn my relationship with Him!