As far as visual representations go, that’s pretty much accurate to what happens when I try to lean on my own understanding. It never ends well, though thankfully not quite as badly as the picture above.

The verse from Proverbs says to trust in the Lord with all your heart and not to lean on your own understanding. You could just as easily say to lean on the Lord with all your heart and not to trust your own understanding. In both cases, you wind up in the same place.

The problem with my own understanding is that it’s finite and based mostly on fickle feelings. If I’m overly tired, I can put a pessimistic spin on my circumstances. If I’m hungry, I can get impatient with God’s timing.

To trust in the Lord is to trust in a 100% impeccable track record. There’s a whole Bible with 66 books that testifies to God never steering anyone wrong. I on the other hand have probably screwed up already in the first five minutes after waking up.

I always remember something I learned from a college and career retreat I participated in when I was way younger. It involved the ROTC of faith. ROTC stands for the definition of faith, which is to rely on, obey, trust in, and cling to the Lord.

So don’t end up like that guy on the stairs tangled up in his own ladder. Trust in God, not your own understanding.