How To Trust God

March 1, 2026

Pastor Geof Morin presented today's message, "How To Trust God." A video of today's message is here on YouTube. It may help to be familiar with the message but that is not required to enjoy the thoughts below.

The key scripture for his message was Proverbs 3:5-6, "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" (KJV).

This is now the third time I've written about the Hebrew word for "know" (yada, יָדַע). Today's reference is in Proverbs 3:6 and was translated as "submit" to Him (God). The word Geof showed included the "to Him" part as well as the "to know" part. It would be more literal to say "acknowledge" Him. This core verb, to know, is used in many many ways. To get a grasp of all the ways, see BibleHub's entry (scroll down on the left to Topical Lexicon). Here are a few quotes from BibleHub:

Yada saturates the Old Testament narrative, appearing in every genre—Law, History, Poetry, Prophets — about 942 times. The verb's range stretches from simple awareness to the deepest covenant intimacy. By observing its distribution, one sees how knowledge is never treated as an abstract commodity but as a living, relational reality rooted in God's own character.

At its most basic, yada denotes factual recognition, e.g. Pharaoh "did not know Joseph."

Biblical knowing then moves quickly from intellect to experience. Moses pleads, "Please let me know Your ways, that I may know You." The section goes on to describe the word's reference to Covenantal Knowledge and Election, Moral Discernment of Good and Evil, Intimacy in Marriage, Divine Foreknowledge and Omniscience, Knowledge as Revelation, Knowledge and Worship, Prophetic Calls to Know the LORD, Wisdom Literature, Knowledge and Accountability, Pastoral and Ministry Applications, Messianic Implications, and Eschatological Hope.

It's a huge word.

Another word in these verses provides other meanings. For instance, "make straight" your path could also be "direct" your path (yashar, יָשַׁר). The latter makes it a little clearer that the path may not be as straight or easy as initially imagined, but rather aligned with God's will (directed by Him).

Bonus

If There Is No God...

This is the latest book by Dennis Prager, assisted by Joel Alperson: If There Is No God: The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil.

From the Prager store:

Your beloved dog and a stranger are drowning. Who do you try to save first?

Every time famed radio host, New York Times bestselling author, and Co-founder of PragerU, Dennis Prager, has asked this question, one-third of the audience voted for the dog, one-third for the stranger, and one-third was not sure. We live in an era when people increasingly make moral judgments based on their emotions. But if feelings determine what is right and wrong, then whether murder, rape, and theft are wrong is no more than an opinion. Why are those who riot and destroy property wrong, especially if they feel their behavior is justified? Prager explains that without objective morality, the world will descend into chaos, with every individual engaging in any behavior they feel is right.

For fifty years, Dennis Prager, one of the best-known public intellectuals in the Western world, has explored the vital role Judeo-Christian values play in shaping individual lives and entire societies. In If There Is No God, he engages in provocative and sometimes heated exchanges with questioners who offer some of the greatest challenges he has faced concerning how one determines good and evil and why one’s feelings can be life-enhancing yet morally unimportant.

If God exists, why doesn’t He punish the unjust? Why does He allow the innocent to suffer? How can religion better the human condition when so many of the religious are often immoral? These timeless questions are in urgent need of answers. The reader need not be religious or even believe in God to find the arguments and debates in this book compelling and meaningful. All one needs is reason to appreciate the ideas Prager presents.

Thought-provoking, important, and accessible for the devout and the skeptic, If There Is No God is a guide for anyone seeking clarity in a morally troubled age.