Avoiding the Potholes

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
   and do not rely on your own insight. 
In all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I just met a young woman who told me a “dark cloud” is hovering above her.  She was less than 30 years old, was divorced in the last year, and has 3 children.  She told me that she feels lost and without direction.  As she continued to tell her story, my heart began to sink.  She feels like God has forgotten her and that she doesn’t know where to turn.

It’s a good thing that we have the Word of God.  It really is.  I don’t believe it is naïve to trust in God.  This young woman is a perfect example of just how much we need Him.  This young woman believed that God would just make everything sunshine and roses.  She felt abandoned when life happened to her. 

Here’s what I told her, in a nut shell.  I told her that God is in the middle of the mess.  I said to her that life is just not fair sometimes…in fact probably most of the time.  Things turn in our lives on a dime, and we get lost in the shuffle. 

The remedy?  Trust God.  Don’t trust your judgement…it’s more than likely to be wrong.  In ALL your ways and decisions consult the living God.  And God will make your paths straight.  It doesn’t mean the difficulty will disappear, but just like me driving across the Sewickley bridge every morning, I know where the potholes are.  I can avoid them.  There is very little dodging.  I keep a straight path because I know where the holes are and the line I need to take to miss them.

Trust God.  He’ll direct you around the holes.  He’s in the middle of the mess…

Keep looking up!

Pastor Ron