“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your body and a refreshment for your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-8)
Ironically, many of us place more trust in the works of doctors and pharmacists than in our Creator. We visit doctors whom we do not know, nor do we understand their training at times. After our visit, the doctor prescribes medication that we can barely pronounce. We take this prescription to the pharmacist, who we also do not know. The pharmacist provides us with the prescription, which involves different chemicals of which some have no direct understanding. We then follow the instructions given by the pharmacist or written by a stranger on the box of medicine, and we ingest these pills, ointments, and elixirs, trusting these remedies will resolve our maladies.
Now, if we were to trust God in this same way, can you imagine how different our lives might be? In today’s passage, wisdom says, “Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5). In the text, the word used for “trust” in Armenian is abavinel (to take refuge). Refuge means to throw oneself in the hands of someone or to place oneself under the care of another, in the same way, children throw themselves on a parent’s lap, displaying absolute trust.
Likewise, to “trust God ,” as wisdom says, is to exercise faith and confidence, throw ourselves into His caring hands, and submit all our burdens, worries, and anxieties to Him. Just as we may trust a doctor without knowing every single detail about that doctor’s efforts and training, we invoke this faculty of trust and place it in our God. We know that our loving Heavenly Father cares for our every need. As St. Peter says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
