TRUST GOD THROUGH IT ALL part 4

He will make your paths straight.

The first clause in Part 3 told us to In all your ways acknowledge him. What’s the step in order for you to Trust God Through It All? The answer is in the next clause:  He will make your paths straight.

On the face of it this looks like an encouraging promise, and it is. It’s a promise that with God’s help as we trust in him we will eventually reach the destination that He has in mind for us. An eternity of joy in his presence.

But, it is also a little bit of a warning. It reminds us that our path in life is God’s path, and His way may not be the way we would have chosen for ourselves. As Jesus said, Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. God’s path is not the path we would naturally take, and God’s idea of a straight path is not necessarily our idea of a straight path.

So, the final element of learning to trust in God with all our hearts is being prepared to go wherever he is taking us. It may not seem like the path of least resistance at the time, but looking back we will always see that it was the straight path after all.  I hear your pain.  I hear my own too.  But, Trust God Through It All!

Sometimes there will seem to be insurmountable obstacles in our way, and we will begin to doubt that this is the straight path that God is leading us on.

But this is all part of learning to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. Removing the obstacles is His job! He will make your paths straight.  Let me say that again…Removing the obstacles is HIS job!  HE will make your paths straight.

We often read about these things in the biographies of great Christians of times past, don’t we? They try to follow where they believe God is leading but huge obstacles loom up in their way. Humanly speaking the situation is impossible, but this is God’s way of teaching us to trust him with all our hearts. We need to trust His promise to clear the path before us.

I in no way resemble the Christians you read about in books, but I did have my own small experience of learning to trust in God to clear the path in 2015.

I believed that God was leading me to go into full time ministry for a long time.  So, I went, with my pastor’s encouragement, to earn my Doctor of Ministry degree.  I rationalized that this was me walking towards full time ministry.  Then I heard, it’s time to pastor.  So, I told my pastor, I’ve accepted my call to the pastorate.  But I also heard God say I needed to leave my job and pursue His call to the pastorate.  For months, I did nothing else.  Then I lost my job! I continued to hear God’s voice “Pastor”. I told God I can’t start a church, I need to get a position in a church looking for a pastor.  So, I applied to a few churches to no avail.  I prayed for God’s guidance and deliverance in my financial and job situations. God asked me, “Are you going to trust me and lean to MY understanding?” 

Well, to cut a long story short, through what I believe was God’s work, I not only started a church but did so with the full support of family and friends, with a place to worship, with many donations and with people who came to worship. God made the path straight.

And He will make your paths straight too, if you trust in him with all your heart. So be prepared to go where God is taking you to, and be prepared to trust in him to make the path straight. When we get into the wheelbarrow, we go where God wants to take us.

You’ll have to come back on Tuesday for the finale of the series, TRUST GOD THROUGH IT ALL! I hope you’ve learned how to trust God even more. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments.