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Directions for Life

Proverbs 3: 5-6

"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."

Bethesda's Parish Ministry Consultants do a lot of traveling for their jobs. From gravel roads to freeways and city streets, we get around! This can lead to some interesting adventures as we make our way to our appointments. My adventures are usually detours that happen when I try to follow the "map" in my head rather than ask for directions or look at an actual map.

On a recent trip to western Minnesota, I was very glad that the pastor gave me directions to his country church. I had never been there before and my map did not show the gravel roads that led there. As we talked over the phone I noted the fact that he said, "The church steeple is visible from the highway." That would certainly help me find my way, I thought to myself.

The morning of my trip however, the weather was very foggy. As I turned off the highway, I could not see a church steeple in any direction. I was glad the pastor had also provided these additional instructions, "Drive two miles south and then turn west." I trusted his directions and they spared me from experiencing another one of my adventures.

What guides you as you live your life each day? Do you follow a "map" in your head or do you ask our Heavenly Father for guidance and direction? Many people are confused about where to go for help and direction in their lives. Listen to all the talk shows on radio and TV. Read the advice columns in the newspaper. People are struggling to know what to do; where to go; who to trust in their lives. They are living in a fog. Even Christians can have times of doubt and confusion.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not in our own understanding. What a sure source of direction and guidance we have when we place our trust in the one who loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. What a source of comfort and peace to know that the Creator of the universe loves us and cares about where we, as individuals, are headed in our lives. By the power of the Holy Spirit, may we daily learn to trust more completely in the Lord, and know that even when we fail to trust in Him we have forgiveness through Jesus Christ.