Welcome to Week Two of our Family Bible Study in the book of Proverbs! We’ll be challenged to live wisely by fully trusting God rather than our own limited perspective on life.
Proverbs is a book of wisdom that can be used in everyday situations, like making good decisions, working hard, and building friendships. But it’s not merely good advice. Biblical wisdom is knowledge applied to everyday life for the glory of God. The goal of this Bible study series will be to lead our kids in building practical skills to live by God’s rules in God’s world. Let’s inspire our children to embrace these timeless truths and grow in understanding God’s purpose for their lives!
Click here for week 1 of our Proverbs study – What is Wisdom?
Let’s Study the Bible Together
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for revealing yourself to us in the Bible. Please help us trust in you with all our hearts instead of leaning on our own understanding. You are powerful. You are good. Help us to know you better as we study Proverbs. Amen.
Read Bible Passage: Proverbs 3:5+6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Big Idea: God teaches us to live wisely by fully trusting in Him rather than our own limited perspective on life.
In our first lesson, we learned that Biblical wisdom is knowledge applied to everyday life for the glory of God. We also learned that wisdom is found by fearing the Lord—not a scary kind of fear but a healthy fear that respects and honors God’s power.
Our focus for today will be on trusting in the Lord with all of our heart. It’s one of the things that is easy to say out loud, but harder to actually live out. If you don’t trust that God is good and that his plan for you is good, you won’t follow his path of wisdom. Think about it: If you didn’t trust that your kitchen chair was good and that it won’t collapse, you wouldn’t sit on it. We trust God because he is sovereign and he is good.
God is sovereign. He is in total control of everything. Nothing happens apart from his will and purpose.
God is good. Everything that God plans and accomplishes is for the greatest possible good. It’s all for our good and his glory.
The proverb teaches that we should trust in the Lord with all our heart. It goes beyond understanding with just our mind and expands to our deep reliance on God. The verse tells us not to lean on our own understanding. This isn’t about throwing away all of our confidence in our intelligence. God gave us our minds. He made them good. It’s a reminder that even the smartest human beings have limitations, but God has unlimited knowledge and resources. He is in total control.
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”
When we trade our limited understanding of the world for trust in God’s unlimited knowledge, the proverb tells us that God will make our path straight. In wisdom literature, the path is the direction of someone’s life. The straight path is the life of holiness and obedience in response to what God has revealed to us. This is the life that God is leading us to. God teaches us to live wisely by fully trusting him rather than our limited perspective on life.
Note for Parents: You know your kids better than anyone else, so feel free to adjust the questions to work for your family. Enjoy!
Discussion Questions
- What does it mean to trust another person?
- How can we show that we trust God?
- Why shouldn’t we always follow our thoughts or feelings?
- Can you think of a time when trusting God was hard but ended up being the best choice?
- What does it mean to acknowledge God in all your ways? Can you give examples from school, sports, and family time?
- What do you think it means that God will make your paths straight? Does that mean life will always be easy? Why or why not?
God teaches us to live wisely by fully trusting in Him rather than our own limited perspective on life.
Memory Verse: Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.“
Family Life Application
Which Way Should I Go?
Instructions: Set up a simple obstacle course made of pillows or chairs. Put a blindfold on one child. For the first round, have the child attempt to go through the obstacle course with no help. For the second time around, have a parent give instructions to guide them safely through the course. Talk about it. Ask – which one was more successful? Connect it to how we need God’s guidance because we can’t see everything. When we listen to his voice, he leads us.
Closing Prayer: Ask a different family member to end your time in prayer each session.
Note for Parents: Please share a comment to let me know how the Bible study went!
Click here to check out our Family Bible Study in Colossians.
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