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

Why does Solomon, the wisest man in the whole world, who wrote today’s verse, tell us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean on our own understanding? Because of this reality: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways….For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts,” says the Lord (Isa. 55:8–9).

A lot of times the Lord will lead us to do something that makes no sense. When we feel God’s Spirit telling us something that seems to contradict our own understanding, we have to make a decision. Are we going to follow what we believe to be the directive of Yeshua? Or are we going to lean on our own understanding?

Years ago I was on my way somewhere, and I was taking a route I used to go almost every day. But on this particular day I strongly felt the Lord say, “Don’t go that way today. Go this way.” It made no sense to me because my normal route was the fastest course. But the impression was so strong in my spirit that I said, “Lord, it seems like I’m clearly hearing Your Spirit telling me to go a different way, but it makes absolutely no sense. So Lord, I’m going to go the way I usually go, but I’m marking this moment because if I go my usual route and something goes wrong, I’ll know I was hearing Your voice, and I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Sure enough, when I didn’t heed the voice of the Lord, I ended up in a huge traffic jam. I was clearly hearing the voice of Father God, but I didn’t follow it because it went against my own understanding. Beloved, let’s be open to the Lord’s voice. Let’s believe that we really do experience God’s leading and choose to yield to and obey Him, because as we do, God is going to lead us into a depth with Him we could never have experienced if we’d lived only by our own understanding.

Father God, help me not to cling to my own understanding too tightly. Make clear to me when You’re speaking so I can follow Your voice. Help me to grow in trust so I follow You without debate or hesitation.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Revelation (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2020), Used by permission.