AUGUST 2023.
What comes to mind when you think about roadworks? Do you respond to them in frustration, seeing them as an unnecessary disturbance along the way, or do you respond in grateful acknowledgment of their intended purpose? Most of us probably have a mixed response based on circumstantial factors like the urgency of our journey, but our response is probably also based on deeper factors like the level of trust we have in the authorities who commissioned the work.
Proverbs 3:5-6 speaks of the Lord making straight the paths of those who trust in Him. How do we respond to the work the Lord wants to do in our lives? Do we respond in frustration or in trust? In the context of the Lord disciplining those He loves, Hebrews 12:11 says “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.” As do roadworks, the Lord’s work in our hearts often seems painful at the time, but as the verse continues, “later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Are we willing to trust the Lord through the difficult process of making straight our path?
Interestingly, Hebrews 12:12-13 goes on to shift the responsibility of making straight paths onto us: We are called to responsively participate in the good work the Lord wants to do in and through us, which we can only do as we respond with trust in our hearts. So, whether your journey along life’s path is presently smooth or unexpectedly slow, the call is to “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)
