Straight Paths
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." --Proverbs 3:5-6
Those two verses are favorites for so many Christians. They are a good reminder that we are to place our faith and trust in the Lord, instead of in ourselves, and acknowledge Him in all we do. Our "own understanding" will fail us time and again, but God's word, and His ways, will never let us down.
Some people tend to skip past the last part of verse 6--translated there as "He will make your paths straight"--but that is an important part of the passage. It is not so much a promise, as it is a proverbial truth--and like most Scriptures, understanding the context and type of literature helps you to better understand its meaning. The idea is that when we trust the Lord and submit to Him, He will direct us and put us on the right path. When you live your life by faith, then you recognize that there is no place you can go where God is not already there.
Theologians call that "the prevenient grace of God." Actually that phrase, and the doctrine that it describes, usually refers to matters related to salvation, to describe the grace given by God that precedes the act of a sinner exercising saving faith in Jesus Christ. We can't come to God unless, by His grace ,He makes the first move and calls us to Himself. The term prevenient comes from a Latin word that meant "to come before, to anticipate," so the phrase literally means "the grace that goes before."
Whether our doctrinal slant be informed by Calvinism or Arminianism, that truth still remains--that God is always graciously a step ahead of us. And like most gospel concepts, it is not limited to matters of salvation. It carries with it a recognition that in every situation of life God in His grace is already at work before I get there. He is working providentially and strategically and redemptively for my good and for His glory. To borrow from a popular expression, while we are playing checkers in the current world, God is several moves ahead of us playing chess. Or something like that.
Said another way, while I am struggling with the problems I face today, God is already at work providing solutions for the things I am going to face tomorrow. He's already there, working creatively in situations I have yet to face, preparing them for me and me for them. God is already at work, graciously providing solutions for problems I don't even know I have yet!
And here's where the rubber of prevenient grace meets the road of real life. I have no need to be worried about what is coming next week, because He's already ahead of me, working His plan. And I don't have to sweat the things that I will have to face next year. He's there too. Whatever tough situations, and difficult decisions, that loom in my future should not produce anxiety in my life, because God has got those too. So I should live expectantly--by faith--trusting in Him with all my heart.
This is where our understanding of theology and Christian truth makes a difference in our lives. Not only does it help us to understand how we come to faith in Christ to begin with--by grace, through faith--but gives us confidence as we face the struggles of every day life. We can trust in the Lord, acknowledging Him through it all, knowing that He knows exactly where our lives are going and He will make sure we have straight paths ahead of us.
What a privilege and a joy it is to be your pastor. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday, both for worship in the morning and for fellowship at our picnic that evening. It's going to be a great day!
--Pastor Ken
