May 26 – Learning to Trust Again

 Proverbs 3:5

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (NIV)

SITREP:
Have you ever been on a mission where trusting your instincts could get you killed, but trusting your orders saved your life? In battle, blind confidence in your own knowledge can be a fatal error. **Proverbs 3:5 issues a standing order to every soldier of faith: full trust must be placed not in yourself, but in the Lord.

Breaking Down the Verse:

• "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" — Trust is not partial or reserved—it’s full commitment. God isn't asking for a backup plan; He demands primary allegiance.
• "and lean not on your own understanding." — Your experience, your instincts, your logic have limits. God’s wisdom sees beyond every terrain and threat you can’t even detect.

Solomon, the wisest man to walk the earth apart from Christ Himself, penned this not from theory but from the battlefield of life. True wisdom starts with surrender, not strategy.

How This Strengthens a Soldier’s Faith:
In military operations, trust in leadership, intelligence, and command structure is non-negotiable. But even the best human systems can fail. Proverbs 3:5 calls every soldier to a trust deeper than human strategy—a trust grounded in the all-knowing, never-failing Commander of Heaven.

For the combat veteran, who knows firsthand how fragile human plans can be, this verse is life-saving truth. Your instincts, while sharpened by experience, are not infallible. Your own understanding, while battle-tested, has blind spots. But God’s vision is flawless. His strategy accounts for everything you cannot see.

When you face decisions where the path seems clear but the Spirit prompts otherwise, trust the orders over the optics. When your gut tells you to fight but God says to wait, trust the delay over your impulse.

Leaning on your own understanding may feel natural—but it can lead you into ambushes of fear, pride, or regret. Trusting in the Lord leads you into victories crafted by hands stronger and wiser than yours.

ENDEX:
Your battlefield advantage is not your experience—it’s your trust. Soldier, lay down the weight of figuring it all out. Anchor your heart fully in the Lord’s wisdom. When you step onto the battlefield today, trust not what you see, not what you think you know, but the sure, steady commands of your God. You are safer under His orders than you ever are trusting your own map.

AAR (After Action Review):
Victory belongs to those who know when to trust command. Proverbs 3:5 reminds every warrior that the most critical battlefield decision is where you place your trust. Leaning on your own understanding will eventually buckle under pressure. Trusting in the Lord, however, will never fail you. His paths, though sometimes confusing in the moment, always lead to greater victory. Obey the orders of the One who sees the full battlefield—and you will find yourself standing strong when the smoke clears.

Make your voice count—share what you’ve lived.

Share your experiences in the comments below. Your words could encourage someone else walking a similar path.

If you're comfortable, include as much or as little personal detail as you’d like. We suggest:

• Name
• Veteran, Retired, Family Member etc.
• Service Branch
• Years of Service (or Deployment Dates and Locations)

Every story matters—and yours might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.