13 Days of Trust in the Lord and do good. Day 9 – Proverbs 3:5-6.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

The first thing we see in today’s passage is instruction to realize and remember that God’s thoughts and ways are not like ours, so we can’t lean on our own understanding apart from Him. His thoughts are higher, greater, and more marvelous than we can even begin to understand. And His ways often take us in directions we would not dream of going.

Take the patriarch, Joseph, for example. In his dreams, God shows Joseph how great he is destined to be; then, in a weird twist I’m sure Joseph never fathomed walking, God sent him to live the life of a slave. While faithfully walking that seeming crook of a life-path, God did three major things in Joseph: He grew in him a great faith, trust, and appreciation for God that was not stopped or shaken by hardship or trouble; He grew Joseph’s skills as a trustworthy steward-leader; and he gave him a reputation that led to his being noticed by Pharaoh, who then placed him in the very position promised him by God.

Now I don’t believe that path looked like a straight one from Joseph’s point of view, but God was not even once caught surprised by the twists and turns in Joseph’s journey to greatness. God knew exactly what it would take to fashion Joseph into the man of God for the hour of need, and He led Joseph STRAIGHT through the training course of His life. If Joseph failed to trust God each time it surely appeared to him that his life was off course again, it’s very likely his path would have given way to a crooked one leading nowhere.

So, my friend, despite that which may seem off course to you, put trust in God. Lean not on your own understanding, but know that God is making crooked places to lead you straight to where He destined you to be, made fully ready to do the great things He planned for you from the beginning.

“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6, AMPC