Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Proverbs 28:26 ESV

This verse greets us and establishes the idea of trust from the start. Trusting in something matters—but the Bible warns us that it's foolish to trust in our own minds, meaning in ourselves. This verse makes it clear: When we trust in ourselves, there’s a consequence.

Delivered from Ourselves

But what does it actually look like to trust in ourselves?

It means relying on only yourself. It means following our hearts without looking to God for direction. When we leave God out, we end up chasing our own ideas and feelings, as if they’re enough to trust in. But they’re not.Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” It’s no wonder that the Bible warns us that when we trust solely in ourselves, it leads to foolishness. 

This verse shows a great dichotomy between the foolish and the wise. But if we choose to give up our natural reaction to only trust ourselves, and press into walking in God’s wisdom, we are kept safe and delivered. In a sense, we’re being delivered from ourselves.

We all have knowledge. Knowledge is something we can easily receive. But wisdom is something more. Wisdom is taking the knowledge we have and using it appropriately. That’s what sets the wise apart—they’re intentional with their knowledge, using it to glorify Christ.

When our actions are guided by the truth of Scripture and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we’re walking in wisdom. And that kind of wisdom protects us. Now, what does it look like to walk in wisdom?

That’s what sets the wise apart—they’re intentional with their knowledge, using it to glorify Christ.

Walking in Wisdom

Walking in wisdom plays on two parts.

1. Knowledge – meaning knowing biblical teachings and precepts on how to live a righteous life. Example: the Ten Commandments or the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Once we read it, know it, and receive it, we now have that knowledge.
2. Reverence – meaning we honor and revere God so much that we try our hardest not to disappoint Him, in fear that He might reject us. It establishes a posture in which we earnestly want to live right by Him.

Now we take those two components (knowledge and reverence) and go through life. Whenever we come into a life situation—regardless of the extreme, from how to manage money to spiritual temptation—we know how to respond (knowledge) and actually do the appropriate action that propels us toward righteous living, because we earnestly want to (reverence). Thus, we begin walking in wisdom.

Some examples...

• While you're at work, and the boss is there or not looking, do you slack off or continue working hard as if you are serving the Lord? (Colossians 3:23-24)
• When you are invited by a non-Christian friend for drinks at a bar, and they overindulge, do you participate or respectfully decline with self-control? (Proverbs 25:28) 

A Worthy Life

Walking in wisdom is picking up your Bible and holding it dear to your heart, trying your best to follow it, because God has done so much for you that the least you can do is try to walk wisely in a manner that makes Him smile. Colossians 1:10 says, “So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

There is beauty in knowing that wisdom will deliver us and keep us safe. When we are being attacked by the enemy, we should feel confident walking with and in wisdom, knowing that God is keeping us safe.

So my friends, let us walk in wisdom that begins with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10), to help save us from the destruction of mistakes of not trusting in Him, and ultimately from the deceitfulness of our own hearts.

Walk well, walk wisely. 

🔥 Bonus Sauce!