This last month I have been chewing on Proverbs 3:5&6, it says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight.” I have been chewing on this a lot because from my perspective our path is not straight. There have been sharp curves like you wouldn’t believe, I’m sure we have launched in the air, we have swooped up hills and soared down hill at neck breaking speed. How can God’s word say my path will be straight when it has been anything but smooth and straight.
Now, I may be a day late to fully thinking this out, but the conclusion I have come to is two fold. One, I need to think about what is my path straight to, what is my destination? Second, I also need to decide who’s perspective I’m going to choose to look at this through. If it’s talking about my relationship with Jesus, then the path is straight, I may not like what the path has to tell me, but it is straight. I’m a sinner, born with sin, I am in need of a Saviour and his name is Jesus. I need to make my relationship right with Jesus so that I may glean joy and peace in my life. It is up to me to run away from what is being offered or to embrace Jesus and thank him for washing me clean and taking my sin. Choosing to face Jesus with humility or turning away and choosing rejection, but notice if I turn away I’m the one rejecting not the other way around.
Another thought is choosing who’s perspective I’m going to look at a situation through. If I choose my perspective, which is flawed because I am limited in what I can understand and what I can see happening in the future. All I can see is what is happening now and I can only make decisions based on what I know. But, if I choose to see my circumstances or situation from God’s perspective then the path is completely different. It will always be straight to him, he can see in the future, he created the future, and that is were choosing to submit to him comes in. This is where prayer becomes important, because I must be in communication with the Father, who can see all sides to a situation. He is able to guide and direct me, scripture says over and over that if I seek wisdom I will find it. As I move forward with a decision I can only make the best choice and decision based on what I know and pray God will give me wisdom, insight, guidance, and protection. Even thought I am praying for a smooth path, God may throw in a curve ball of an extra bill, he may throw a curve all of my kid’s getting sick, not knowing how rent will be paid, etc. However, this does not mean my path is not still straight, it may mean God is using a situation to teach me to trust him more. If I look at life through God’s eyes the path will remain straight, it will require I lay down what I understand and what I can see. It will require me to submit to God all the things I want to control and the ways I perceive is the best way to handle a situation. I must trust that God has it under control and that HE is the best at the perfect way to handle situations!
So, let go I must, let go of preconceived notions of how life should be handled, directed, and controlled. I must give up any control I thought I have or should have, because unless I am submitted completely to God’s way of doing things I will continue to be frustrated when twists, turns, and bumps happen in life. Submitting joyfully that they are not bumps at all, they are not a shock to the Father, and that he is well aware of all that is going on and that as much as my earthly brain cannot understand what straight path there is for things that happen to us. All I know is that when I have let go of control that is where peace and joy have been found. Holding tightly to life, holding on to bitterness, holding on to the way my brain thinks things should be done has only caused ugliness in my heart and my mind.
Letting go so that my path can be straight!