Proverbs 3:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

We have been talking about the aspects of faith and how there are many. Here is one in which trust has two aspects. One is faith in God and the other is in trusting ourselves. While it does say not to lean on our understanding, it references the heart first. We who are in Christ have the indwelling Holy Spirit that uses faith to enact God’s will. We made that point yesterday.

Hidden within those biblical definitions of faith was the word fail. Failure is associated with unfaithfulness not faithfulness. We will in the flesh fail and in doing so gain valuable experience about when our choices are inspired by faith from God through the Holy Spirit or self-will. We must know the difference and failure on our part leads us to recognize the difference between heart choices and mental decisions.

As we gain experience by our failures we will gain trust in our ability to hear God, believe God and obey God. Every step of faith is initiated by God. It is a trial and error method that God suffers us to learn to trust Him and ourselves. Those are two aspects of trust yet one faith.

Let us now apply that understanding to these verses about faith.

Romans 1:17 English Standard Version (ESV) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Galatians 2:20 English Standard Version (ESV) I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We are not righteous, He is and because He abides in us, His righteousness is illustrated by faith.