Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5–6 is probably the most-trinket-engraved verse in the whole Bible.
It is also probably the most favorited life-text in the world.
It's true.
These twenty-nine words capture the heart of wisdom.
Millions of Christians like you and me have seen it proved true in our lives.
There's a small and vital word that appears twice in the text. The word is: “all”.
- In verse 5, we read, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart,"
- and in verse 6 we read, "in all your ways submit to him".
This “all “accounts for the gap between the magnets on our fridges and our Monday mornings.
All means all.
Until we grasp the totalizing nature of this little word, we are destined to some variety of an uninspiring version of nominal faith. It's not being an all-or-nothing kind of person that gets us. It's being an all-or-something kind of person.
Most people who lack the faith to go all-in also lack the courage to get all-out. As a consequence, they remain stuck in a lukewarm wasteland.
The faith described in the Bible is all or nothing. Settling for the easy out of "At least I'm doing something" is not biblical faith. It's nominal Christianity. The enemy of our age is not doing nothing. It's the mentality that says something is enough.
This doesn't mean you've got it all figured out. All is not measured by perfect attendance, good behaviour, or charitable giving. My all cannot be measured by your assessment. Only God can know because it's about the two all-consuming, intangible dispositions of our inmost self: trust and submission (or surrendered-ness). This must be resolved at the deepest level of one's will - far beneath the transient nature of emotion.
The greatest gift we can give to one another is to become graciously yet brutally honest with ourselves. Resolve to be all-in today. Abandon yourself to God in trust and submission.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, save me from the easy seduction of settling for something. Deliver me from the muddle of mediocrity all around me and the subtle ways I sit in judgment of it. Awaken me to the awareness that an authentic "nothing" is better to you than a vague “something.” Come, Holy Spirit, and grant me the courage of Jesus to go all-in. I surrender my will to you. I trust in you. Thank you for going all-in for me. In Jesus's name, amen.
PROMPTS
- How might we cease judging the faith of others and truly come to grips with the nominal nature of our own faith?
- Would you consider surrendering the totality of your will to Jesus Christ? What keeps you from this?
- What do you think would happen if you ceased being a "something" person and became an "all-in" person? What does Scripture say would happen?
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