Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

How do you express trust? In the world it is expressed by use. You sit in a chair because you trust it will hold your weight. You drive too close to the car in front of you because you trust in the car’s brakes.

When we are new born Christians we are too inexperienced to understand trust as it is spoken of here in this proverb. The deeper appreciation of that trust might not come for some time, even if you do think you understand. Our first instinct is obedience because that is how we trust in the world.

The second line of this quoted proverb states He will give us direction after we acknowledge Him in all our ways. Obedience of faith is the end result of hearing God with the certainty which comes from experience in acknowledging God in every aspect of your life.

It is important for us to acknowledge this because we are asked to make disciples and how can we train them in the way they should go if we do not acknowledge this ourselves?

Prayer is an expression of trust. Worship is an expression of trust. Study is an expression of trust. Listening is an expression of trust. Being real and honest about yourself with fellow believers is an expression of trust. Praising God when alone is an expression of trust.

Trust is an expression of acceptance of His Lordship over your life. The song says trust and obey, not the other way around. Obedience without trust is nothing more than an exercise of self-will which is what got us in trouble in the first place.

Isaiah 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

A proper understanding of this might be expressed in understanding that you do not teach a first grade student calculus. Think about how more difficult it is to teach spiritual concepts to an age group that spans decades. Your class consists of teenagers and forty somethings. All are babes in Christ.

As with first graders you start off with basics, but just how much information do you cover about any one aspect of this life in Christ? The concept of line upon line and precept upon precept gives you some understanding of foundational learning. You do not destroy what is already given, but expand on the broader meanings.

How does any one teacher know when a student is ready to receive that upgrade in information? Part of that is discovered by the teacher in checking your homework. How much individual study time do you as a babe in Christ allot out of your day? Every day or as you can see fit to remember? What do you learn that goes above and beyond the classroom?

Even more important than those probing questions, how well do those results line up with the Word of God in truth? Someone has to be present in your life in order to help determine what is spiritual truth and what is false doctrine. Do you have well trained educators in your life? Ordination in ministry only indicates a level of dedication to serve in that ministry. They too are learning and growing and hopefully are far enough ahead of you with these lessons to help.

While I was preparing this devotional I discovered an extended truth about just one word that my teachers had skimmed over lightly. They did not bring the full weight of the meaning of that word into my learning. Is that because they did not know or because they did not think it important?

I will not share that with you because I have not confirmed it with my trusted counselors. That is the way it should work.