Trusting For A Straight Path

 Proverbs 3:5-6 has long been a favorite verse among serious Bible students. There is a lot packed in those couple of verses that help people navigate the course of life. In a world of many decisions, these decisions can become confusing. The way can become blurred. 

The passage stars out with an admonition that is good for every season of life. Trust in the Lord. This is good for a child, adolescent, young adult, middle aged and senior adults alike. Trusting means having faith in, or placing confidence and assurance in. Has God earned the right to be trusted. He certainly has. His very nature is trustworthy. I am not saying there will not be seasons when it appeared God failed and let us down. I am confident that hindsight will show just the opposite. There are some circumstances we will not understand this side of eternity. Taking the long view, God is reliable. We can trust in Him at all times, even when we do not understand. We are to do this with all our heart. Totally abandoned to Him for our security. 

Next, we are not to lean on our understanding. We do this all the time. We think we know the best path. We make our plans. Sometimes our prayers are not so much submitting to His will as they are trying to convince God to do what we think is right. I am so glad that God did not answer hundreds of my prayers the way I wanted Him to do. If He had, I would not have met or married Brenda, who is the love of my life. I am thankful He shut the door on many churches that I thought were a great fit for me in ministry over the years. If He listened to me I never would have met the wonderful people in Paradise or Seminole or Weatherford. I am thankful for many hardships that taught me to trust Him more. We don't always know the best way. The older I get, the more I lean into God to make important decisions. I try to be at a place where I have no will of my own. I submit to His will, His plans, His desires. He knows best. He certainly knows better than I do what is best. 

In all our ways, we are to seek and acknowledge Him. He will make our paths straight. The word straight means pleasant and prosperous. The path might be straight. It also might be straight up hill. The pleasant prosperous ending might not come before having to climb. Through the path of climbing, we discover new things and get better views. 

If you have walked with God long enough, you know the path of life is filled with adversity. These are tests we have to overcome. Trials to endure. Tribulations to triumph. Each of those has the ability to destabilize our faith or to strengthen it. It depends if we trust. At this stage of the game, I trust God for a straight path. I seek Him. I know the way may not be without some hills. I believe that if I am focused on Him those straight paths will lead me straight to Him. That is the ultimate goal. Trusting for a straight path that leads me closer to Him.