But what exactly does this verse mean?
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
And that is just one of literally hundreds of verses in the Bible that talk about trusting God.
I think it means to trust God and not our own understanding. BUT HOW? How do we do that? In a very practical sense, I can trust God, but when it comes time for dinner, I still have to cook it. I still have to walk out to the car to drive to church. I still have to make my bed if I want a made bed. I can trust God all day long, but at some point we have to do the stuff, not just pray about the stuff right? So what does it mean to trust God? How does He speak to us and how do we know when He is speaking to us?
I was talking to my daughter a few days ago, and we were talking about being married. What if you pray about something and ask for God's wisdom and sincerely want to know, but you *hear* different things? It is a real issue. A real thing that does happen.
In most cases you can go to the Bible and see what God already said about it. For example it is clear that God says we should not lie, so if your answer would involve deception...then God didn't say it. The Bible teaches us to be generous so if the answer would be to be selfish, then God didn't say it. The Bible teaches us that no one will know the day of Jesus' second coming, so when someone says they know the date, it is easy to dismiss. God didn't say that.
Go to the Bible and see what God already said on the subject and see if what you are *hearing* is lining up with The Word. Then...when you know what He said, TRUST IT! He cannot lie. If what God is telling you to do is consistent with what the Bible teaches, then you cannot make a mistake by trusting that as truth.
Is God telling you to go somewhere to preach the Gospel?
Matt 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Is God telling you to give above what you think your ability to give is?
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Is God telling you to step out of the boat and do something that makes no sense at all?
Matthew1 4: 9 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Yep, God does that too.
Is God asking you to do something uncomfortable and something that goes against what you have always thought? See above! Peter actually asked Jesus to ask him out of the boat. Maybe your prayers of wanting to change the world, or your corner of it involve trusting God to that degree even when it does not make sense superficially.
Ask trusted advisors, of course making sure they know the Bible themselves, but first things first, go to the Bible, see what God says, and then trust His Word. We need to care less about what people think about our *crazy ideas*, and more about what God already said.
