Read: Proverbs 16:1-9
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (v. 9 NIV)
Planning a trip from New York to San Diego, I could find the fastest route or I could find another thousand roads that will get me to the same destination. If traveling is a metaphor for life and our destination is heaven, then God knows how to get us there no matter where we find ourselves. It might be the most direct route, or it could be the road less taken—if we want God’s will, the journey will hold many surprises, that’s for sure. The key is a heart that longs for God’s will and trusts him at every turn.
I have sometimes been driven by stubbornness to find my own route or demanded to know where I was going without entrusting my future to God. As my trust has grown, I’ve found shalom (wholeness) in laying down the worries and cares of trying to make everything come out right—that’s a job for God. I’ve begun to learn that the journey itself is important to shaping my life and helping me desire his ways and will.
From his vast store of contingencies and strategies, God directs and redirects—always toward his great and perfect and unchanging will—that someday, we will see him face to face; we will know fully just as we have been fully known (1 Cor. 13:12). God can use even wrong turns to shape your heart and will. Perhaps it’s time to forgive yourself and get back on the journey. —Amy Clemens
As you pray, share your trust in God who knows every road home.
About the Author
With a bachelors in journalism from Texas Tech University and a masters from Western Theological Seminary, Amy Clemens enjoys all things writing, particularly about the life of faith. She is blessed with a family that includes husband Fred, five children, and five grandchildren.
Amy has just published her first book, "Walking When You'd Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall," which weaves her journey from childhood abuse toward healing and spiritual growth with a practical theology for the big story of God. You can find out more about the book and author at walkingwhenyoudratherfly.com.
