Being a student athlete at Georgia Tech overpowered me, and I became full of discouragement and fear of failure and rejection. Once, while visiting my Mom and Dad’s home, I picked up one of her old Christian books called the Calvary Road. This book introduced me to two verses that grew to be my life verses, Proverbs 3:5&6. They began to be my daily “go to” verses and gave me strength and direction through many twists and turns while at Tech and even to this very day.
Proverbs 3:5&6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Trust implies a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, and strength of God. Adhering to these verses means that we choose to trust and lean on Him and His understanding rather than our own. As a result of my acknowledgement of Him, “in all my ways…He (made my) paths straight.” Living life on a straight path is so much more refreshing, productive, and rewarding allowing you to enjoy an abundant life as well as being a blessing to others.
So, what gets in our way living out these verses? Verse 7a tells us, “Be not wise in your own eyes.” We start thinking of ourselves rather than God, living life on our own terms. Life is lived according to our understanding, desires, and priorities not God’s. The last part of this verse, warns and challenges us to not do this. The Bible commands to “fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” “Fear the Lord” means to have a reverential awe of our God. We are exhorted to worship and place Him, His understanding, and His desires first in our life and turn away from the evil encountered daily.
Verse 8 explains and gives encouragement why we should fear God and turn from evil. “It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
- Psalm 34:9 states, “Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.”
- Proverbs 23:7 declares, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.”
Living life on a straight or crooked path comes down to one word…choice. It has been that way since the beginning of mankind. Daily, we choose to either acknowledge God or live life on our own terms. Only one of these choices really makes sense. Acknowledging God leads to “healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Barnabas Man 