Trust Beyond Understanding

Continue untangling from the need to control in this episode exploring what it means to trust God even when we don't understand. Based on Proverbs 3:5-6, we discover that trust grows when we stop leaning only on ourselves and release our demand for answers before we'll believe God is good. One of the sneakiest forms of control is intellectual control—insisting God explain Himself before we'll trust Him.

What You'll Learn:

• Why trust grows when we stop leaning only on ourselves
• What it means to lean on your own understanding
• Why demanding answers before trusting is actually a control tactic
• The limits of our understanding compared to God's perspective
• How to trust God with all your heart, not just the comfortable parts
• A practical untangle moment to release the need for answers

Leaning on Our Own Understanding: When Solomon says "do not lean on your own understanding," he's not saying understanding is bad—he's saying it's insufficient, limited. When we rely solely on our own ability to figure things out, we set ourselves up for anxiety and disappointment. If trust depends on understanding, you'll never trust God fully because there's so much you don't and can't understand. Leaning on your own understanding means making trust conditional on having answers ("I'll trust You when I understand why"), refusing to move forward until everything makes sense ("I can't trust this next step until I see the whole plan"), treating God like He owes you an explanation, and believing if you can figure it out, you can control it. That's not trust—that's self-reliance disguised as faith.

Trust With All Your Heart: Solomon says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart"—not half your heart, not just the comfortable part, all of it. This means trusting God when you don't understand, when it doesn't make sense, when you can't see the outcome. It means believing God is good even when you don't understand His ways, that He's faithful even when you can't trace His hand, that He's working even when you can't see it. This is what trust actually is—not certainty or comprehension, but confidence in God's character when you don't have confidence in your circumstances.

The Limits of Understanding: Your understanding is limited. You don't see the whole picture, don't know the future, don't understand how all pieces fit together. Isaiah 55:8-9 says God's thoughts and ways are as much higher than ours as the heavens are higher than earth. God's perspective is infinitely greater. What looks like disaster to you might be part of a larger plan you can't see. If you're waiting to understand before you trust, you'll wait forever because full understanding isn't coming this side of eternity. But trust is available right now—even without answers, clarity, or understanding.

Your Untangle Moment: Identify one situation where you're demanding to understand "why" or "how" before you'll trust God, then practice untangling by choosing trust without needing answers. Write down the question you're demanding God answer before you'll trust Him (be honest and specific). Acknowledge out loud: "I don't understand, and that's okay. God, You understand." Pray this release prayer: "God, I don't need to understand. I choose to trust You anyway." Throughout the day, when the need to understand resurfaces, repeat: "I trust You, God, even without understanding." This is untangling—releasing intellectual control, choosing trust over comprehension, leaning on God instead of your own limited understanding.

Perfect for anyone demanding answers before they'll trust, struggling with "why" questions, needing to understand everything, or learning to trust God's character over their own comprehension.

Scripture Focus: Pr