Trust in the Lord and Lean Not
We can center our lives on the Savior
by coming to know Him, and He will direct our paths.
By Bonnie H. Cordon
Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency
Women's Conference, April 2017
In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read this counsel: "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 they paths." This scripture comes with two admonitions, a warning and a glorious promise.
Two Admonitions:
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart...In all thy ways acknowledge Him.
The Warning:
The warning comes into the words, "lean not unto thine own understanding." In English the word lean has a connotation of physically listing of moving to one side or another, we move off center when we lean, we are out of balance, and we tip. When we "spiritually lean" to our own understanding we lean away from our Savior. If we lean we are not centered, we are not balanced, we are not focused on Christ.
Remember that in our premortal life we stood with the Savior. We trusted Him, and supported Him, and followed him in the plan of happiness set forth by our Heavenly Father. We leaned not. We fought with our testimonies and aligned ourselves with the forces of God and those forces were victorious. This battle between goof and evil has moved to earth. Once again we have the sacred responsibility to stand as a witness and put our trust in the Lord.
How do we keep centered and lean not unto our own understanding? How do we recognize and follow the Savior's voice when the voices of the world are so compelling? How do I cultivate trust in the Savior? We can come to know the Lord and and cultivate trust in the Savior by:
1) Scripture Study
- "Feast upon the words of Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye
should do." (2Nephi 32:3)
- The Scriptures enlighten our minds, nourish our spirits, answers our questions, increased our
trust in the Lord, and helps us center our lives on him.
- "Remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby." (Mosiah 1:7)
2) Prayer
- What a blessing it is to be able to pray to our God.
- "Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart." (Moroni 7:48)
- The Peace that comes from prayer gave Sister Cordon the courage to trust in the Lord and lean
not on her own understanding. The Lord directed her path in many decisions she has made.
- As we make a habit of approaching Heavenly Father in prayer, we will come to know the
Savior. We will come to trust Him. Our desires will become more like His. We will be able to
secure for ourselves and for others blessings that Heavenly Father is ready to give if we will but
ask in faith.
3) Service
- The Story of Any Wright:
- In 2015 Amy was diagnosed with cancer. Her cancer had a 17% survival rate. She was in the fight of her life and the odds were not in her favor. After undergoing many chemotherapy treatments Amy was on deaths door. She did not know how it was possible for someone to be so sick and still be alive. Amy declared chemo to be a human rights violation, and she told her husband that she was done with the treatments. Amy quit. She decided not to go back to the hospital. Amy's husband responded to her decision with a declaration that they needed to find someone to serve. Amy thought her husband was crazy, she was literally dying and so sick she could barely function as a human being and her husband was suggesting finding someone to serve. Amy's symptoms gradually worsened, to where she only had about two days a month where she was able to function. It was on those couple days a month that Amy and her family would serve others. On one of those days Amy and her family distributed "Chemo Comfort Kits" to other patients in the hospital. When Amy couldn't sleep because the pain was too great, she would think of ways to brighten someone else's day, by writing notes and sending texts to friends and family, or do family history searches to find relatives to do temple work for. Amy testifies that "Service saved my life." She ultimately found the strength to keep moving forward in the happiness she found while trying to relieve the suffering of others. Her own pain took a "back seat" to the pain and needs of others. She looked forward to service projects with great joy and anticipation. Amy recounts, "You would think someone who was bald, poisoned, and fighting for her life was justified in thinking the 'right now its all about me.' However, when I thought about myself, my situation, my suffering and pain, the world became very dark and depressing. When my focus turned to others, there was light, hope, strength, courage, and joy. I know this is possible because of the sustaining, healing,nad enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
The Glorious Promise:
"He shall direct they paths."
Jesus Christ has overcome the world. Because of Him and because of his infinite Atonement, we all have great cause to trust, knowing that ultimately all will be well. We can center our lives on the Savior by coming to know Him, and He will direct our paths. We are on earth to demonstrate the same trust in Him that allowed us to stand with Jesus Christ when He declared. "Here am I, send me."
President Thomas S. Monson testified that "our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us... as we walk uprightly... There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us."
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