Faith for the Future

Yael Eckstein  |  November 6, 2026

Every Friday, we turn to the Book of Proverbs for timeless wisdom to guide our lives and strengthen our faith. One of the 11 books of the Ketuvim—“Writings” in Hebrew—Proverbs belongs to the Bible’s wisdom tradition, offering practical and godly guidance for living with faith, integrity, and understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding

Like so many during the Holocaust, there was a woman who witnessed her entire family being taken away to the gas chambers of the death camps. She was the only one in her family to survive.

After the war ended and the camps were liberated, the woman made her way to America, where she married and looked forward to starting a family. But twelve years passed, and the woman remained childless. At one appointment, her doctor said to the woman, “I’m telling you this for your own good: Give up! You will never have a child. It’s time to move on.”

The woman left the doctor’s office understandably depressed. She boarded a bus, but when her stop came, she didn’t get off. She spent the whole day on that bus in a state of despair until the driver informed her that the day was done, and she had to get off.

“Listen lady,” said the bus driver. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re not going to solve it by staying on this bus.”

The woman got off the bus and prayed quietly, “God, You were with me all along. You saved my life countless times. You brought me here. You let me start my life over, and so it is in Your hands. I have no right to give up. The bus driver is absolutely right—You didn’t save my life for me to live on this bus. I won’t stop serving You no matter what and I also won’t give up.”

One year later, the woman had a baby. And by the time the she passed away at a ripe old age, she was the grandmother and great-grandmother to many more children.

In Proverbs we read: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” The original Hebrew reveals a deeper understanding of this verse—instead of “Trust in the LORD,” it literally reads, “Trust toward the LORD.”

According to the Jewish sages, this anomaly teaches us that our faith in God cannot live in the past. Rather, our trust in God must be propelled toward the future. We have to use our past experiences of God’s providence to build a future based on faith. So let’s all look to a good future that is perfectly created by our faithful God.

One More Moment

Join us for a new season of Nourish Your Biblical Roots: Holy Land Digs! Across eight episodes, we’ll explore Israel’s biblical sites and uncover the stories hidden beneath the soil.