The Most Googled Bible Verses — Episode 5: Who Directs Your Way? (Proverbs 3:5–6)
Left, right or straight ahead? How many times have you faced that decision on the road? This episode is about direction in life. Sometimes the course to take is clear because God’s Word tells you what to do. At other times it is not. For Christians, that is where trust in God comes into play.
Proverbs 3:6 tells us how to leverage the providential hand of God. It is about the simple recognition Jesus spoke of in the model prayer: “Your will be done.”
Read about this subject
- Scripture: Proverbs 3:6, Proverbs 16:9; Hosea 4:6
- “Peace and Contentment”
Listen to more on this subject
Transcript
Kerry Duke: Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My God and My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee Bible College, where we see the Bible as not just another book, but the Book. Join us in a study of the inspired Word to strengthen your faith and to share what you’ve learned with others.
Here’s another verse that millions of people are reading. It’s found in Proverbs 3 verse 6. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Now to get the full meaning of these words, we need to read the verse before this. So let’s read them together. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Trusting in the Lord with all your heart means not leaning on your own understanding. And not leaning on your own understanding means to acknowledge God in everything you do. And if you do this, God will direct your way in life.
This verse says it all begins by acknowledging God. That doesn’t just mean to believe He exists. It means to recognize Him as Lord. It means to submit to His will. It means to acknowledge His wisdom over your opinions or feelings. And, it means confessing your ignorance. We really don’t know which way to turn without God. And we certainly don’t know what lies ahead. But God does.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 10 verse 23, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” If more people admitted that, then the world would be a much better place. Jeremiah said the way of man, that is, the way we ought to go in life, the path we ought to take, is not in us. That means it’s not in our own human wisdom. We can’t know how to live without God. Look at how many people are trying to do that. Those people are stressed. They are confused. They are unstable because they don’t know what they’re doing. They think they do. They talk like they’ve got everything figured out. But no man knows what he should do without guidance from God. And it’s only when we admit that we’re not as smart as we think we are that we start to learn what we should.
That’s why it’s important to remember that the verse were looking at is not a promise that God will direct us if we don’t listen to His word. Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and”—if you trust Him, if you acknowledge Him— then “he shall direct your paths.” But that doesn’t leave out the Bible. It involves listening to His will in the Bible and doing what He says.
I say this because too many read this verse and misuse it. They may be dealing with a decision about right and wrong. They may be concerned about how to be saved. They think, “It says if I acknowledge God, then He’ll direct my steps, so I’ll just say a prayer and see what happens.” That is not what Proverbs 3 verse 6 means. That is not the kind of advice the Bible gives. When the Jews asked Peter what they should do to about their lost condition in Acts 2, Peter didn’t tell them, “Just say a prayer and everything will be okay.” He told them what to do. That’s what they asked Peter about anyway. They said, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2 verse 37). And Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2 verse 38). When the Jewish scholar asked Jesus what to do to have eternal life, Jesus didn’t say, “Just acknowledge God and He’ll take care of it.” He told the man, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” (Luke 10 verse 26). He pointed the man to the Scriptures.
I realize that most of you understand this. You know that Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6 is not a quick, easy fix for the problems of life. It’s not an excuse for ignoring the Bible and not doing what it says. But we’re living in an age when a lot of people are looking for a quick and easy solution. And it’s up to us to teach them better.
So let’s talk about what this passage means when you do believe in following the Bible—all of it, and not just favorite verses here and there. Let’s think about acknowledging God in whatever we do. That takes a lot of humility and faith. Do you remember the story of God appearing to Solomon and asking him what he wanted? It’s in First Kings chapter 3. The Bible says in verse 5, “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask! What shall I give you?’” That’s not something you see very often in the Bible. And if lesser men had been in Solomon’s shoes, they would have tried to take advantage of God. But the Lord knew Solomon’s heart. Solomon said in verse 7: “You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.” Now that’s acknowledging two things. The first is that he admitted his ignorance. He said he was young and didn’t know what he was doing. He said I don’t know how to go out or come in. That’s a hyperbole. It’s like us being in a situation where we don’t know what to do and we say, “I don’t know which way to turn” or “I’m so confused I don’t know up from down.” That’s how Solomon felt about being king. He wasn’t arrogant. He didn’t say to himself, “My Dad was king and I watched him so I know how to do this.” Solomon was humble. He had sense enough to know that man needs guidance from above. And that’s the second thing he admitted. He acknowledged the wisdom of God. He said, “And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (First Kings 3 verses 8 through 10). Solomon knew he couldn’t handle this tremendous responsibility without God. So he asked God for one simple thing. He didn’t ask for a strong military to protect the nation. He didn’t ask God for money and power or good health and a long life. He certainly didn’t ask God for a life of pleasure and entertainment. He asked God to give him an understanding heart. He knew he would need wisdom to lead these people and make important decisions. And he knew at the time he didn’t have that kind of wisdom. The Bible says, “The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: ‘Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days” (First Kings 3 verses 10 through 13). And then God said it was up to Solomon to do his part, to do his duty, with all that the Lord gave him. He said to Solomon, “So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days”(verse 14).
Now keep in mind this is the very man who wrote Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6. He did what he’s telling us to do. He trusted God. He acknowledged God in this huge undertaking. That ought to get our attention and make this more real and personal for us.
There’s a small word in the verse we’re looking at that we haven’t stressed yet. It’s the word “all.” Solomon didn’t say, “Acknowledge God in your ways.” He said to acknowledge Him “in all your ways”—in everything you do. Recognize God in all your decisions. Recognize God in all your hopes and plans. Acknowledge God in good times and bad times. Acknowledge Him in big things and little things. Recognize Him when you first wake up and when you go to sleep. Thank Him constantly for every good thing you have; acknowledge Him for giving you food to eat, clothes to wear, and a home to live in. Pray to Him and ask Him for strength and comfort and wisdom when you’re down and need the help only He can give.
In the Old Testament, kings of Israel sought the counsel of the Lord before they went to battle against their enemies. They did that for the nation. Sometimes they would ask God whether or not they should go to war because they were selfish and cared only about keeping their power. But at least they acknowledged God before they went to battle.
Do you believe there’s a lesson for us in this? There sure is. When you’re facing a battle in life, the wisest thing you can do is to acknowledge God when the battle begins and keep acknowledging Him as long as it lasts. Many people, maybe even most of us, start the conflict with a recognition of God and a firm resolve to trust Him. We say, “I’m not worried about this because I know God’s in control.” But when the battle goes on for weeks or months or even years, we become weary. It gets harder to acknowledge God because nothing is changing. But that’s not what God said in Proverbs 3 verse 6, is it? It doesn’t say, “In all you ways acknowledge Him, and He will put an end to your troubles soon.” It says He will direct your paths. Now some of those paths are smooth and some are rough—very rough. But God will guide you through them. That’s the promise of that verse.
Here’s another great man in the Bible who’s a great example of acknowledging God. His name won’t be a surprise. I’m talking about Job. He was a very wealthy man with all kinds of responsibilities. But he didn’t forget God. When times were good, he didn’t take God for granted. Before all the troubles started that we read in this book, Job honored God on a continual basis. The Bible says he had seven sons and three daughters. Job wasn’t the kind of father that only cared about them doing well for themselves in life. They had a comfortable life. But he also wanted them to do right. He was so conscientious about this that the Bible says, “Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly” (Job 1 verse 5). So when times were good, before all his troubles came, he recognized God in his life. He didn’t wait until trouble started and then prayed to God.
But when his battle with Satan did begin, the first thing you see Job do is to acknowledge God. After he lost his livestock (which was a main source of his wealth) and after he lost his ten children in one day, he didn’t complain and he didn’t forget God. The Bible says he “arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (Job 1 verses 20 through 22). But as time went on, the battle grew more intense and painful. Satan struck Job with sore boils from the top of his head to his feet. We can’t even begin to imagine the suffering in his body and the anguish in his spirit. And as the chapters unfold, you learn that it’s not so easy for Job to say what he did in chapter 1. He doesn’t just say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” That wasn’t easy for him to say when he lost everything. But when he was in extreme, excruciating pain day after day, he did complain. He did grow tired of the suffering. He wanted to die and get it all over with. But when he was going through the fires of tribulation, he never gave up. He did acknowledge God even though he was angry with God. He said, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19 verse 25).
Here’s another great example of acknowledging God. His name was Noah. You remember the story, the story of the flood. God sent the flood and literally wiped everything off the face of the earth. Only eight people survived in the ark. Noah and his family were in the ark a little over a year. Then God told Noah he could leave the ark. Now just think of what lay ahead for these eight people. They had just lived through a divine reset unlike anything the world had ever seen. It’s a fresh new start if there ever was one. So Noah and his family brought the animals out of the ark. They’ve been in that boat for over a year and now they’re ready to start a new life. Do you remember the first thing Noah did when he came out of the ark? He worshipped God. The Bible says in Genesis 8 verse 20 that he built an altar and offered burnt offerings. Now think about that. Noah and his family had what a lot of people want. They want the whole word to themselves. Well, Noah and his sons and there wives could live wherever they wanted. They could have as much land as they wanted. They didn’t have to buy land or pay taxes or worry about bad people. The whole planet was at their disposal! Now what would many today do if they had been in Noah’s shoes? A lot of people would have been like a bird out of cage. They would have looked at everything and run in all directions. They would have started dreaming about how much land they could own. They would have thought about making a living. They would have envisioned all the things they could have in their new life—houses, fields, crops, gardens, livestock—and they didn’t have to answer to anybody. That’s how it was at first. Of course eventually there were other people. But at first they had it all to themselves. But what did Noah do? Before he ventured out into all the open country, he honored God—just like he had always feared God. What an example he is for us. When a storm of life strikes, we look for shelter in the arms of Jesus. We pray and talk about trusting the Lord. But what do we do when the storm is over? When the skies clear, do we feel like we have our freedom again and go back to having fun and enjoying ourselves? Or do we think about what we’ve been through and learn from it and grow because of it? Do we thank God for giving us safe passage through the bad times? Do we acknowledge God when we’re about to enter the next phase of our life—a phase we expect to be a better stage?
And, when you think about people in the Bible that acknowledged the Lord in their lives, you have to think of David. The first time we see David in a tense situation is the battle with Goliath in First Samuel 17. When David told Saul he would fight this huge man, Saul told him he didn’t have a chance. But David told the king about a time when he killed a lion and a bear, and he wouldn’t have any problem killing this Philistine. And he made sure the king understood how he did all that. He did it because God was with him. The first thing he did was acknowledge God. David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (First Samuel 17 verse 37).
Now think of the times he could have killed the man who was trying to kill him. I’m talking about Saul. Saul was trying to hunt David down and kill him. David had a chance to kill Saul in a cave where David and his men were hiding. In fact, his men told him this was the opportunity he had been waiting for. So this was a big moment in his life. It’s a decision that would affect a lot of people. If he kills Saul, there would have been repercussions that are difficult for us to imagine. If he doesn’t, there would be more problems for him and his men. But David refused to do it. Saul was still the king, the man God chose to be the leader of the people. The first thing David told his men when they said “Go ahead and kill him” was to recognize the place of God in all this. He said, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed” (First Samuel 25 verse 6). In this very important decision, he acknowledged God.
Then of course there’s the book of Psalms. David wrote most of the psalms. And whether he talked about his blessings or his trials, he acknowledged God. When he did something as simple as look up into the sky at night, he thought about God. In Psalm 8 verses 3 and 4 David said, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man, that You are mindful of him? And the son of man, that You visit him?” When he sinned, he confessed it to God. In Psalm 51 verses 3 and 4 he wrote, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.” When his heart was heavy, he prayed to God. In Psalm 61 verse 2 he said, “From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” When things were going well for him, he didn’t forget God. He thanked God and praised God. In Psalm 119 verse 62, David said, “At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You.” In every thing David did and everything David experienced, good or bad, he was very aware of God.
That’s the whole idea we’re talking about. Acknowledging God is more than just saying a set of words. It’s thinking about the Lord in all you do. And when we don’t think about God, that’s when we have trouble. Here’s a verse that talks about that. You may have heard it before. It says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” That’s what God said about the people of Israel in Hosea 4 verse 6. How many times have you seen or heard that verse? Here’s the question: what does it mean? Usually people say it means God’s people were destroyed because they didn’t know. They were ignorant of God’s Word and the nation was paying for it. But, and please listen carefully, that is not what this verse means. I’m not saying it’s a terrible interpretation. I’m not telling you that it’s an evil interpretation. It’s just that God is talking about something else. God said His people were destroyed. That means the people of Israel were destroyed spiritually and morally as a nation. They were greedy. They were adulterers. They served idols. All that and more was destroying the nation. God said in Hosea 4 verse 6 that His people were destroyed for lack of knowledge. Most people think that means they were ignorant, that they didn’t know God’s will. But that’s not what He means. The word “knowledge” in Hosea 4 verse 6 means the acknowledging or the recognition of God. That’s what they lacked. That’s what was missing. Now if it seems strange to say that, look just before this at Hosea 4 verse 1: “Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.” He said there was no truth in these people; they were not honest. He said there was no mercy in them; they mistreated others. He said there was no knowledge of God in them. That cannot mean that no one in Israel knew God existed. They were idolaters but they were not atheists. They tried to serve God and idols at the same time. When God said there was no knowledge of Him in the land, the word “knowledge” means being aware of God, being conscious of God. That’s what you see in the verse we’re looking at—Hosea 4 verse 6. After He said the people were destroyed for lack of knowledge, He says, “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” They rejected God. They deliberately ignored His law. They were not entirely ignorant of either. But they wouldn’t acknowledge God. They wouldn’t recognize the authority of His word. They thought about everything else but God. That’s what this lack of knowledge or acknowledgement means.
We need to be doing what they were not doing. We need to be recognizing and acknowledging God and everything we do. We need to see God in every part of our life. We need to be like the blessed man in Psalm one verse two. The Bible says, “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” We need to think of God and pray to Him throughout the day. David said, “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray, and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55 verses 16-17). We need to see the hand of God and recognize Him when we look at His creation at day or at night. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). That’s what the Bible means when it says to acknowledge God. It’s the opposite of ignoring God.
And, Solomon says, acknowledge Him in “all your ways.” Acknowledge God wherever you are and whoever you’re with—at church or at home, at school or at work, at a store or in a restaurant. Sometimes you’ll be able to acknowledge God out loud. But at all times you should acknowledge God in your heart. Paul said in First Corinthians 10 verse 31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” If you’re thinking about God as a Christian, you’ll do the right thing; if you’re not thinking about God, the devil will set a trap for you and he’ll catch you every time. If you’re thinking about God, and I mean, really thinking about God, it will be very hard for you to say the wrong thing. If you’re thinking about God, it will be very difficult for the devil to tempt you. The thought of God in our hearts is a very powerful thing.
And there are times in life when you really need to trust God, and you really need to acknowledge Him. When you’re making a major decision in life, you need to make extra sure that you’re recognizing God first. You need to make sure that you understand his revealed word in the Bible. You need to follow the advice of the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon. He said in the multitude of counselors there is safety. That means to get good advice from God-fearing people, especially God-fearing older people. And of course, when you’re making a major decision, pray to God with all your heart. When you’re making a decision about a job, a home, finances – especially long-term financial decisions, the first and the last thing to do is to acknowledge God. And then, and I’m talking to Christians here, acknowledge God by putting your trust in Him. Acknowledge God by saying “Your will be done and not mine.” Acknowledge God by saying “If the Lord will” instead of “I’m going to.”
If you’re thinking about marriage, by all means acknowledge God. Put God first and keep Him there. Make sure you respect and obey what the Bible says about marriage. Too many times people leave God out of their marriage. That’s a recipe for disaster. That’s why so many marriages fail. And I’m not simply talking about the decision to get married. I’m talking about the decision to stay married. All of it depends on recognizing God. If we honor God in marriage, then God will bless us. If we ignore the law of God in marriage, then we will reap what we sow.
If you’re facing a real hardship in life, keep God ever before you. Acknowledge Him constantly. Pray to Him without ceasing. Do whatever you put your hand to with the thought of God in your mind. If you’re dealing with something like a stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s, an accident or surgery or any other physical affliction, acknowledge God, and he shall direct your paths. If someone close to you has died and you’re living with almost unbearable grief, acknowledge God with all your heart and trust Him with all your heart. If you’re worried about your children or grandchildren because they’re not living right, keep the thought of God ever before you at all times. It’s the only thing that will give you peace. Remember what Solomon tells you. “In all your ways acknowledge Him.”
Solomon said if you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He will direct your paths. Life gets dark sometimes. You know what’s right and what’s wrong. That’s not a problem. But sometimes you don’t know which way is best. You don’t know when the timing is right because you don’t know what will happen next. And even if you think you know how to navigate through stormy waters, you may not be able to like you plan. We need His guiding hand. Thank God this verse says He directs our steps.
So why worry about tomorrow? Why stress over money or sickness or conflict? Why be afraid of where life is taking us? We don’t know which roads the providential hand of God will lead us through, but we do know where He’s leading us to at the end of the journey. Some of the paths won’t be easy. Some of them will be so hard that you’ll tell yourself you can’t do it. But God will see us through those valleys of life if we submit to Him and trust Him with all our heart. David said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me” (Psalm 23 verse 4).
There are other times when we’re confident about what we’re going to do, but we don’t see what’s coming. And we may not realize at all that God has a different plan altogether. The book of Proverbs also says this: “A man’s heart devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16 verse 9). How true that is so many times in a Christian’s life. Life doesn’t follow the path you lay out in your mind. You can make all the plans you want (and that’s okay and even a good thing many times), but you don’t know what lies ahead on those roads. Life can change suddenly and drastically and unexpectedly. Everybody learns that in life sooner or later. Everybody at some point says, “My life took a turn I didn’t expect.” But what’s different for the Christian is that we know the hand of God is with us in this journey. God causes some of those twists and turns in life. We don’t know when or exactly how, but we do know that sometimes He sets up roadblocks and gives a detour. He sometimes causes a traffic jam in life and makes us wait when we are in a hurry. And we need that in life. We need to be reminded that we’re not in control as much as we think we are.
Do you remember when God told Abraham to leave His home and move to a place he knew nothing about? Hebrews 11 verse 8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Abraham didn’t know what lay ahead. He knew some things God told him about the future, but there was a lot God didn’t tell him. But Abraham trusted God. He trusted God with all his heart. He trusted God when a lot of people would not have. He wouldn’t let the unexpected problems on the way turn him aside from the way God was leading him. He didn’t know he would fear for his life in Egypt. He didn’t know that he and his nephew Lot would part ways because of the conflict between their workers, even though they parted on good terms. He didn’t know that Lot would be caught in the middle of a war and Abraham would have to rescue him. He didn’t know he would have another wife besides Sarah and that there would be conflict in his family. He didn’t know that he would have a son when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. And he sure had no idea that God will tell him to offer that son as a sacrifice years later. But he trusted God with all his heart. He didn’t lean on his own understanding. He acknowledge God and all his ways, and God directed his paths. And now Abraham is in glory. And if you and I put our trust in God and obey Him, then he will lead us through the uneven pathways of life to the eternal home in heaven.
Thank you for listening to My God and My Neighbor. Stay connected with our podcast on our website and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever fine podcasts are distributed. Tennessee Bible College, providing Christian education since 1975 in Cookeville, Tennessee, offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Study at your level. Aim higher and get in touch with us today.