4 Ways to Keep a Straight Path



“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

– Proverbs 3:6

Trust in God

You can trust in God, even when your heart tells you differently. The problem we sometimes have is we put more weight on feelings than we do on what God’s Word says. If you take human feelings and put them next to God’s Word, it’s no contest. Human feelings are highly unreliable and can be wrong. But God’s Word is always true and can keep your path in life straight. Just “trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5a).

No Leaning on You

What I mean by the subheading “No Leaning on You” is “do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5b). Leaning on your own understanding is like leaning on air. It’s not going to hold you up; there’s not enough there. Our own human understanding is no match for leaning on God’s understanding, which means leaning on the Word of God. There is danger in leaning only on human understanding because “every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart” (Proverbs 21:2).

Give God the Glory

We know God will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 48:2). So “in all your ways acknowledge him” (Proverbs 3:6a). We can’t even take credit for what we have because all that we have has been freely given to us by God (1 Corinthians 4:7). Even our salvation is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). Name one thing that’s not given by God. Why not give God the glory, especially when we receive some credit for doing something. Deflect that credit like the moon does the sun, and acknowledge Him in all things.

The Straightened Path

Proverbs 3:6b says, “And he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:6b), which seems to indicate the path wasn’t straight to begin with. Otherwise, why would God need to straighten it? The point is, if we trust in God, lean on His understanding and not ours, and give Him the glory, then He will make the path straight for us. If not, then the path could get a little dangerous.

Conclusion

Proverbs is full of godly wisdom and is one of the greatest books in the Bible. It teaches us about the ways of God, the duty of man, and the need to glorify God. We cannot do even a little without God. In fact, we can do nothing without Christ (John 15:4).