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 few months ago, my son began his driving lessons. It has been quite an experience in trusting.  I must admit that while it is easy for me to trust God whom I have not seen, I have yet to master the art of trusting that my son (whom I have seen) knows what he is doing at the wheel. My son is a pretty good driver and yet, sitting in the passenger seat on pins and needles, has made me a formidable prayer warrior.  It has taught me what it means to trust in God’s protection.  Every time we pull up safely into the driveway, I give thanks to God in heaven.

There are times when those who are supposedly running the affairs of our world, leave us wondering if we will make it. Perhaps there have been occasions when you have experienced pins and needles and wished you could take over the wheel and drive yourself.  There may even have been times when you lost your cool because of some ‘bend’ in the road.   It is especially in these precarious and murky times, that God calls us to lean on him and not on our own understanding.  We can confidently trust that his plans for us are for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11) because he has told us so.

I suspect that times like these are designed to shape and strengthen our trust and faith muscles. Times like these deepen our prayer lives. We can find peace and praise in the storm because our heavenly navigator knows all and sees all.  He is already in the driving seat of our lives, and he knows what he is doing.  He who created us knows best and we can be bold and secure in his promises.  And who knows, it could be that when all the noise surrounding our lives fades out, we might discover that we too have become formidable prayer warriors who have mastered the art of giving God thanks in every situation because he made every path straight in response to our submission to him.

This week, take a prayer item each day and bring it before God’s throne of grace: Pray for our hurting world.  Pray for the nation you live in for therein lies your blessing. Pray for your family and friends.  Pray for the suffering people of our world.  Pray, pray, pray and believe by faith that our God will bring us all safely home.  Amen!