Devotional: Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."

The first line in this verse is very clear: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." That means trusting God with all our decisions, our actions, our words, and even our reactions. It means believing that His ways are better than our ways, even when things don't go the way we planned. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't make plans, but it does mean we shouldn't rely on out plans more than God. There is a word called "patience" that we as people tend to struggle with (including myself). Sometimes when things don't work out, we rush to create our own backup plans instead of first seeking God and trusting that He is still guiding our steps. Question: Have you ever thought that your plan didn't work according to your will because God had something greater in store?

This verse reminds me not to depend on my own understanding because our perspective is limited. We can only see what is in front of us, but God sees the bigger picture. Our minds are incapable of comprehending the goodness of our Father. When we rely on ourselves, we can unintentionally limit what God wants to do in our lives. That's why the scripture tells us to seek His will in all we do. Trusting God requires surrender, obeying, and believing that His promises are true even if we don't fully understand or like the narrow path He is leading us on.

It's also important not to compare our journeys with others. (Honest moment) I used to see people around me getting blessed, while my life just seemed to be stuck. I used to feel like God had his ears closed to my prayers. Without realizing seeds of anger, jealousy, judgement, and doubt began to form in my heart because others around me were getting blessings that a felt I deserved more. Let me remind you, none of us are worthy, not even for the next breath that we take. We don't know another person's story, their struggles, their sacrifices, or what God has called them to. Each of us has a unique purpose, and God designed our paths differently so that we can each contribute something meaningful to His Kingdom. Our responsibility is simply to trust God with our whole heart, seek His will in everything we do, and believe that He will guide us in the right direction.