Proverbs 3:6 – In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
If you know me, you know I love a good adventure. I have a unique skill set of turning most anything into an adventure. If you and I are going to spend time together, what I most want is to have an adventure together. I want to do something for the first time. I want to see something new. I want to experience something worth talking about. I want you and I to create a good story together.
I have an adventure partner. This adventure partner of mine is a lover of all things outdoors and naturey. Her name is Christel and if you’re a member of BIG Life Mentoring, you know her. She’s the super inspiring one who’s lost over 140 pounds, loves without limits and will cheer you on as if helping you succeed is her one mission in life. Most every month for nearly 2 years now, Christel and I have a hiking date. We pick a new trail somewhere within a 4 hour drive of one of our homes and we make time to have our adventure.
Last summer we hiked the Pigeon Creek Trail along the shores of Lake Norfork in Arkansas. Now, what I’m about to tell you I must first preface with a truth … I get lost in the mall. I’ve seriously walked around a Walmart parking lot for a good 10 minutes convinced someone has stolen my car because I can’t find where I parked it. But Christel, well I feel confident adventuring about with Christel. She’s never lost. She’s like an undercover park ranger. She knows every animal, looks up at the placement of the sun, and uses great logic when navigating.
Less than a mile into our mighty adventure hike we came to an intersection. One trail turned into 3 trails with markings that made absolutely no sense. And when I say no sense, I mean like there’s a single tree with 2 arrows and they’re pointing at each other. But Christel, my trusty hiking guide with a built in compass, makes the wise decision to always stay right. Every intersection, we stay right. Easy enough.
Well … something went wrong. Really, really wrong. And hours and hours later we realize we are lost. Like for real lost. Like holy crap this is how people die lost. Like I feel like we’re in a bad movie lost. Like it’s time to whip out our phones and call for help lost. But wait … we have no service. WE ARE LOST.
Ya’ll, we were 10 MILES lost. We were out of water and our GPS showed us walking in circles. With every new split in the trail and totally uncertain choice, we both realized just how lost we were.
And I began to pray out loud … “Lord, we have loved this adventure. It has been grand. But you see, we’re kinda lost. We don’t know where we are, BUT YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE.” The words were still coming out of my mouth when the view through the thick trees to our left revealed the sweet sweet sight of pavement!
All this time, we were wandering around in circles on the windy paths, whipping out our cell phones trying to be smart and download maps, read our GPS, discover where North was (well Christel was doing that – knowing where North was would have done me zero good) all the while God knew exactly where we were and HE COULD MAKE OUR PATHS STRAIGHT.
Isaiah 41:10 says –
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God sure was with us – and he is with you. Are you wandering around lost? Are you at your wits end, not knowing what else to do? Have you tried it all and nothing has worked? There is no reason to fear. He’s got you. He will strengthen you and he will help you. BUT HAVE YOU ASKED HIM – or are you still trying everything you know to figure this out on your own? How many more miles are you going to wander around in your woods while things only get worse.
I once read that prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse. But the right key does not give admittance unless you use it. YOU HAVE THE KEY – THE KEY IS PRAYER. But a key does you absolutely no good unless you insert it into the lock and use it. Why don’t you use it?
You can wander around lost and confused trying to find your way through that thick forest, messy marriage, dead end job, stressed finances, and try to raise those wild kids on your own … or you can use the key in your hand to unlock heaven’s storehouse and PRAY.
Is there anything else within your reach that has such potential? Prayer has the potential to make your paths straight. Prayer has the potential to bring you out of this. Prayer has the potential to save you, save your family, save your marriage, save your house, save your job, save your peace. Now why wouldn’t you use it? Silly girl. PRAY ABOUT IT!
Some seasons require more prayer. Some seasons are harder than others and maybe you’re in one of those really hard seasons right now. A month after my “lost in the woods” experience, I returned to the Pigeon Creek Trail with my husband to show him how confusing the trail system was. I wanted him to see he too would get lost. But he didn’t. We had no problems at all. You know why … it was a different season. The leaves had fallen and without the dense forest, we could see the shoreline of the lake most of the time. It was just a different season. But I know this much … the season we were in the month before had us majorly lost. God had been watching us with a loving eye as we wandered around for 10 miles, just waiting for a call for help. Hey God, I’m lost.
That’s all it takes. Why wouldn’t we call out sooner? Why wouldn’t we use this key we have been given to unlock heaven’s storehouse? WHY WOULDN’T YOU?
Maybe you feel you’ve prayed specific prayers in the past and God didn’t answer. We have to remember God does answer no. God does answer not now. God also answers I’ve got something better in mind. His answers are always to lead us to his perfect will which we may not understand fully, but we can trust it.
If you’re in a season of life where it’s hard to navigate and you’re feeling lost, just tell him you’re lost. Acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. He is with you. He will strengthen you. He will help you and lift you up. I promise.