When my friend Melessa shared that her word of the year is trust, it immediately struck something deep in me. It is one of those words that sounds simple until you actually try to live it.
When we think about trust, most of us like the idea of it until it actually costs us something.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5–6 to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” That sounds straightforward, but if you sit with it for a minute, it is anything but easy.
Trusting with all your heart means there is no backup plan. No quiet little corner where you are still holding control just in case. It means letting go of the need to figure everything out, which, if we are honest, is exactly what we spend most of our time trying to do.
We want clarity. God asks for trust.
We want answers. God asks for surrender.
We want to see the whole path. God says, “Take the next step.”
And that is where the tension lives.
“Lean not unto thine own understanding” might be the hardest part of that entire passage. Because our understanding feels safe. It feels responsible. It feels wise. But the truth is, our perspective is limited. We see what is right in front of us. God sees the beginning, the middle, and the end all at once.
Trust is the decision to believe that His view is better than ours even when it does not make sense.
Especially when it does not make sense.
And then there is that next line. “In all thy ways acknowledge him…” Not just the big decisions. Not just the spiritual moments. All your ways. The everyday choices, the conversations, the quiet thoughts you carry. Trust is not just a one time decision. It is a daily posture.
It is choosing, over and over again, to bring God into everything instead of only turning to Him when things fall apart.
And here is the promise attached to it. “He shall direct thy paths.”
Not might. Not maybe. Shall.
That does not mean the path will always be easy or what we expected. But it does mean it will be guided. Intentional. Covered by His wisdom instead of our guessing.
Trust is not about having everything figured out. It is about knowing Who you are following.
It is about releasing the pressure to control outcomes and resting in the assurance that God is already there, working, leading, and making a way.
If trust feels like a stretch for you right now, you are not alone. It stretches all of us. But it is also where peace lives. Not in having all the answers, but in knowing you do not have to.
And that is a pretty good place to be.
Melessa shared her word as part of something I am doing over on my website. If you would like to choose a word of the year, or you already have one, and you would like to share it, you can do that here.
