Straight Paths

A year ago I was repeating the following verse to myself multiple times throughout the day:

^5”Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
 ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

This was during a time in life where everything seemed upside down and backwards.  My paths did not feel straight at all.  They felt twisty and turny, the kind that leaves your stomach at the top of the hill as you come over it kind of road.  Logically in my head, I knew to trust the Lord, but in reality my heart wasn’t quite all in.  Trust.  This phrase kept coming back to me.

How do I do that?  Nothing seemed to be turning out the way it was supposed to.  I had important, life-changing decisions to make.  I needed someone to tell me what to do, which way to go.  Why is it that we sometimes think of prayer as our final option?  Do we really believe that it has the ability to change things?  I will admit that I struggled with this.  Trust.

Surrendering our will to God’s will is the fight of a lifetime.  When we finally get out of the way of ourselves and let God be in control it’s amazing the roadwork that He can do.  One of the greatest examples in the Bible is the story of Joseph.  He was sold into slavery by his brothers, thrown into prison for refusing to commit adultery and forgotten about by the cupbearer whose life he saved. (Genesis 37-50) We read of his story and chalk it up to a part of Old Testament history.  But have you ever considered the story from the perspective of Joseph in the pit?  Or at the point in time that he was in prison?  If you stop and isolate that moment in time for Joseph, I would imagine that he felt that his path was definitely not a straight one.  However, his trust in God allowed him to persevere.  Looking back on his life he was able to see God’s purpose for him.

 ^“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
~ Genesis 50:20 (ESV)

Many times we cannot see around the corner of our path.  However, I have learned that I need to stop worrying about the corners and focus on who’s driving.

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
~ Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)