We see all these things, and it suddenly makes simple work of life. In these days of seeming complexity, we can come back to this: Trust in God. Trust in His word and definition of reality. Follow Him, and He will take care of us. That’s it. And we can breathe again. The weight of pressure of the multitude of daily decisions, opinions, and potential forks in the road before us suddenly lightens. Trust God. Follow Him. The path will be straight.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight (Prov. 3:5-6).
I love these verses. They are simple and straightforward. Just think for a moment about the core truths we find in just a few words:
We see some truth about us. That we, in our finitude, have a very limited capacity in understanding. We don’t know the future; we barely know even a portion of the past. We cannot see the divine tapestry being woven that intertwines us all together, and therefore we cannot begin to assume the pathway the Lord has laid out before us.
And we see some truth about God. That just as we have our limits, God Himself is limitless. Inasmuch as we should not rely on our own understanding, we can put our faith in Him who understands, knows, and directs all.
And we see some truth about our relationship with God. That, as the writer of Hebrews will later tell us, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith is what our relationship is built on – faith in God’s goodness proven for us through the cross of Jesus Christ. And because His advocacy is not in doubt, we can place our whole faith in Him, holding nothing back.
