God's The Author

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
—Proverbs 3:5

Proverbs 3:5 speaks of our human understanding. There is a supernatural wisdom and understanding that comes from God that supersedes ours and gives divine guidance and power. When a man considers his own reasoning greater than God’s (as did Adam and Eve), he determines his own steps; his hand is on everything. However, a person reborn by the Spirit of God comes to realize that without God’s understanding, no work can bear divine fruit. Without God’s wisdom, there is only burnout, discouragement, and despair. A man who trusts his understanding over God’s will ultimately fail. 

God imparts His understanding through His Word, and true understanding originates only from Him. The Word isn’t meant to live in our minds; it’s meant to live in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is essential in opening our hearts and bringing the Word of God to life (John 14:26; 1 John 2:20, 27). We should rely on His divine wisdom and understanding, not our own.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
—Proverbs 3:6

The word “acknowledge” means “to admit the validity, authority, or truth of.” Acknowledging God means recognizing His existence and submitting to His authority in all aspects of our lives. When we do this, He guides our paths. God never intended for humans to operate independently. We weren’t created to act without our Creator.

When we cease to love God, to listen to Him, and be led by Him, we are no better than the animals God gave us dominion over. It’s only in our union with God that we can ever fulfill our God-given potential. Solomon made this point in Proverbs 20:24 when he said, “A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?”

Leaning on our own understanding puts us before God. It’s worshiping ourselves instead of our Creator. The Holy Spirit has recreated us in God’s image. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, not the product of our own understanding. God’s understanding and His ways are higher than ours. God has revealed them to us through His Spirit, which searches the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10). If we seek the revelation of God’s Word, He will give us His understanding.

We should never lean on our own understanding but acknowledge God in all of our ways. When we do, He shall direct our paths. Our ways shall then be born of His understanding and not of ours. We will bear His supernatural fruit because we aren’t the author. He is.