We’re in a study on anxiety and how to deal with it as believers in Christ. If you missed the previous ones, I’ll leave links at the bottom. As I said, since worry and anxiety are such common problems, I wanted to share with you all some of the truths I talk about in counseling.

Many of the same principles apply whether you have experienced milder versions of worry or full-blown panic attacks. So prayerfully, you will find some truths that will be helpful to you or someone you know.

In week one, we looked at a biblical definition for worry and anxiety. In week two, we talked about what Jesus had to say about worry in Matthew 6. Week 3 we dug into Philippians 4 and some very helpful truths about dealing with anxiety, fear and worry. And last week we looked at fear versus love. Today we’re going to talk about Proverbs 3.1-6 and next week, we’ll wrap up this study.

At the end, you will, also, find links to the previous week’s other posts. They have covered a variety of topics including the secret things of the Lord, why the Bible talks so much about blood, what we can do if we feel we’re not growing spiritually, the challenge of family traditions, our level of commitment to the faith … and more.

Winning the Battle over Anxiety – Part 5 – Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

Proverbs 3.1-6

Today I want to focus on the first 6 verses of Proverbs 3. Let’s read through it together:

¹My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but let your heart keep my commandments,
²for length of days and years of life
    and peace they will add to you.

³Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them around your neck;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴So you will find favor and good success
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths. (ESV)

Drifting Away from God

Now let’s take a closer look starting with verses 1-2:

¹My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,

²for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.

We do tend to be forgetful when it comes to our relationship with God. It’s kind of like being on a raft at the beach. If you just float along enjoying the sunshine without paying close attention to the shore, the tide can carry you far away from where you started.

In the same way, if we don’t stay in the Word and connected to fellow believers who will hold us accountable, we tend to drift away from God. One day we’re reading our Bibles, spending time in prayer, attending church regularly, and serving others. Then we miss a day … and another one … and another. Pretty soon it’s easy to stay in bed on Sunday morning. And if we don’t wake up, we may find ourselves spending more time with unbelieving friends, talking more like them, and giving little thought to the things of God.

If we are genuinely saved, we don’t lose our salvation. But without that anchor for our souls, we will often find ourselves worried and anxious.

What can you do to keep from drifting away from God in your own life?

Let Your Heart Keep My Commandments

I couldn’t help noticing the word heart in the second part of verse 1. It says, “let your heart keep my commandments.”

When the Bible talks about the heart, it encompasses all of the inner man. It’s our mind, our will, our emotions. It’s the soul. It’s who we are.

If you have children, you know it is possible to obey without it coming from the heart and we can do the same thing. We might do the right thing because people are watching or we’re simply afraid of the consequences. But God is always more concerned about what is going on in our hearts. Jesus said this about the Scribes and Pharisees:

This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me (Matt. 15.8 NAS).

But notice when we cultivate that desire to please Him in all that we do and obey from the heart it leads to peace (v. 2). The word here is shalom, general well-being and wholeness, peace with God and the enjoyment of His blessings.

Do your worship and your obedience come from the heart?
Do you do what you do out of a desire to please Him?
Or do you realize you have been living the Christian life with wrong motives?

The Fear of Man & Increased Anxiety

Verses 3-4:

³Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.

The teaching and commandments of verse 1 are characterized by “steadfast love and faithfulness” (v. 3). We’re to bind them around our neck, live them out before others, and write them on our hearts, meditate on them until they become part of who we are inside, as well.

But sometimes we are more concerned with what people think of us, what the Bible calls the fear of man. Pleasing people can become more important than faithfulling pleasing and honoring God. We want “favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (v. 4), but we want it our way.

Proverbs 29.25 says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” So, instead of worrying about what people think, we need to get focused on what God thinks.

Luke 2.52 says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” As we focus on loving God and others and obeying God’s commands faithfully (v. 3), we become more and more like Christ. Wisdom, stature (reputation), and favor with God and people are by-products. But when we try to take control of what people think of us by doing what seems right to us, it leads only to worry and anxiety.

Have you been trying to control what people think of you?
How does understanding that wisdom, reputation, and favor are bi-products of faithful living help you focus more on God?

Trust in the Lord

Now let’s look at the next verse:

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.

Have you noticed how often Scripture talks about the heart? The word is mentioned 862 times in the English Standard Version of the Bible. It’s mentioned 3 times in this short passage alone. In fact, we’re told that the Lord doesn’t see as men see, He looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16.7).

Here in verse 5, we are instructed to trust in the Lord with our whole heart. We are to put all our hope, faith, and trust in Him. But the truth is, we often vacillate between trusting Him and trusting in ourselves or something else.

Jeremiah 17.7 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” Instead, we may trust in our own or someone else’s strength (Ps. 33.16-17), the government (Ps 176.3), education, wisdom, or riches (Jer. 9.23), or our own hearts (Prov. 28.26), among other things.

Focusing on our fear can keep us from trusting God. Instead of meditating on God’s promises and His character, we meditate on what might happen or some lie. “I’ll never get a good job.” “My husband (or wife) will never change.” “What if I get COVID and die?” “What if I never get married?” “What if … what if … what if …?

We must repent of our lack of faith in God and choose to put our trust in Him in spite of any feelings to the contrary. But the amazing thing is when we get our thinking and trusting in the right place, our feelings will usually get in line.

In what are you tempted to put your trust?
On what truths about God do you need to meditate?
Do you need to repent of your lack of faith and trust in Him?

And finally, verse 6:

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

Worrying about the future, including what choices we should take, can be a big source of worry and anxiety. Should I marry this person? Should I take this job? What career path should I follow? How do I know what God wants me to do in this situation?

But this verse says, “in all your ways acknowledge Him.” Ways refers to a journey. The Christian life is a journey, one that God promises to walk out with us (Heb. 13.5). Our responsibility is to constantly acknowledge Him and His sovereign control of our lives. Then we can ask for and expect to receive His wisdom (Jas. 1.5-8). And trust that He will go before us and make our paths straight.

In what ways, have you been worrying about the future instead of acknowledging God and His sovereign control of your life?
In what areas do you need to pray and ask for His wisdom?
On what verses will you meditate so you can grow in your ability to trust Him and to remember that He is on this journey with you?

Next week, we’ll talk more about fear, worry, and anxiety. Be sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter so you don’t miss it.

Homework

We grow as we apply the things of God to our everyday lives (Jas. 1.22-25). I believe you will get more out of these studies if you meditate on the things we’ve talked about and apply them in your life.

Suggested Homework:

In a journal or notebook write out your answers to the questions in this study.
Meditate on Proverbs 3.1-6.
Read Psalm 23 and think about what it means in your life. Write it out in your own words.
Write a paragraph summarizing what you learned. If necessary, write out a prayer of repentance and confession.

Links to the 3 previous studies on anxiety:

Winning the Battle over Anxiety – Introduction, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Now I hope you’ll check out last week’s other posts below.