“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 straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
These verses are famous, and often quoted. But how exactly does God make our metaphorical paths straight? As so often with questions about the Bible, the answers are in the context of the verses we’re questioning.
To continue with the illustration of straight paths, if I’m walking my daughter down a straight pavement, and she attempts to run out into a busy road, I’m going to grab her arm and yank her back, even if I might hurt her. At the time, my discipline won’t feel pleasant, but hopefully with hindsight, my daughter would appreciate me looking after her!
Similarly, God uses difficult circumstances to cause us to rely more fully upon Him to sustain us through all the changing scenes of life. If life was all plain sailing, we’d be like spoilt children who always get their own way. God loves us too much to spoil us like that.
When have you experienced God’s intervention in your life? In what way did He straighten your paths?