Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
A friend of mine sent over a word of encouragement to me yesterday, asking me to write my first verse application in unfortunately way too many months. I lifted up a prayer to the Lord, that He would inspire me to finally write something again. The answer came less than a day later when I logged into Facebook, and read the following status update from my cousin: “I sure could use some prayers to lift me up today. I won't detail why, but life just got a whole lot more complicated. Standing up for what is right, will bring glory to God in the end.”
I love this. No, I don’t take pleasure in whatever challenges or complications may come a family member’s way, but I certainly do take pleasure in difficult decisions that are made in submission to God – especially with a seemingly undesirable earthly outcome.
The bible lists many people who faced a similar crossroad: from Abraham to Stephen to the apostle Paul to many others – all opted for the road less traveled and reaped their heavenly reward. In a world in which it is becoming increasingly more difficult to stand firm and submit all of our ways to God, I take joy in those like my cousin who are doing just that. The bible doesn’t promise an easy path, but it does promise one that is guided and directed by the Lord…and that’s always been more than good enough for me.