Is your path straight?
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Hmmm, looking back on the winding road of my life, I realize my path has not at all been straight. I can testify that I may be the most perfect example of NOT trusting the Lord with all my heart, and USUALLY leaning on my own understanding.
I don’t think I’m alone in this, but that gives me little satisfaction. My life is a journey of years with lots and lots of seeking God, longing to serve God, praying, reading, etc. Yet, dispute all that, it has been a lot of years of wandering.
Now I know the key to a straight path, is
1) to TRUST GOD, not myself
2) keep my understanding out-of-the-way
3) to acknowledge him – in other words, acknowledge that God knows best and has it all in his perfectly capable hands
4) patiently stay on the path he puts me on, and let him open doors, close doors.
You know, his way is so much easier. It takes less thought, less energy, less planning, and a lot less worry and stress. All I have to do is faithfully keep my eyes, ears, heart and soul focused on him, and let him do the rest.
Yes, he has given us gifts to help us serve him and others; therefore he intends for us to use them. He will provide the opportunities. He will gently guide us to those opportunities, or he may plop us in them, but one way or the other, if we seek to serve him and put all our energy into worship, praise, prayer and the study of his word, he will lead and we will follow, and the path becomes not only straight, but joyfully simple to follow.
My prayer is that you don’t have to be in your senior years before you learn this. I have loved my journey closer to God. My sadness comes from the awareness that had I trusted and followed his path unswervingly earlier in my life, I could have served so much more. I might have been able to lead more people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, or at least put a seed in their hearts.
I will not waste any more precious time. If God will lead me. I will follow.
Moriah's Musings 