Sight Seeing

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. --Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)

My husband and I went to San Francisco over the weekend. As is usually the case when we go out of town, we learned a bit more about each other. I learned that when it comes to sight-seeing, Brad doesn't mind walking around, just taking it all in. He is content to operate without a schedule or itinerary. I'm the opposite. Not only do I like knowing where I'm going, but I prefer to know when I'll arrive and what I'll be doing once I get there.

I realized that my husband's approach (although initially maddening to me) was actually a good example of what it means to live according to Proverb 3:5,6. He knew that as long as we were walking in the right direction, we'd eventually find what we were hoping to see. He didn't rely on his own understanding of the situation; after all, we were unfamiliar with the city, but we at least knew how to read the street signs.

There are times in life when we wish we knew the details of how things were going to work together. We want to know when certain blessings are going to be given to us. We desire to know why things aren't going the way we expected. We even go so far as to think that so long as we're doing everything "right" according to our own standards, that God has no other choice than to give us what we've been seeking. This is not the best way to live, and it can be a very frustrating one.

When we trust God completely, and make sure that we look up and read the street signs at life's intersections, we invite much more peace into our lives. Instead of trying to control the situation ourselves, creating a checklist or timetable for all that we think should be happening in life, we should be acknowledging God. When we lean on our own understanding, we fall over.

God is rarely secretive about the things he wants us to learn or the sights he wants to show us in this lifetime. When we read His Word, we learn about what it is He has planned for us. His Word is much more than a road map for life; it is God's plan for our life and our eternity. When we learn to acknowledge him in all our paths, he not only gets us to our destination, but affords us the opportunity for some great sight seeing along the way. The things He teaches us about himself are incredible. I only wish I had started leaning on Him sooner.