Straight Paths

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight.” — Proverbs 3:5–6 (CEB)

When our boys were younger, summer vacation meant loading up the Sienna minivan and driving from Massachusetts to visit family in southern Indiana and St. Louis. With snacks packed and Harry Potter CDs ready, we’d head south, then west—winding through the hills of New York and Pennsylvania, dipping into West Virginia, and curling through Ohio.

The roads were anything but straight. Forests framed the highway, elevation shifted constantly, and the path demanded attention–especially driving through eastern Pennsylvania in torrential rain. Every turn required trust—in the GPS, in the map, in the journey itself.

But somewhere near the Illinois border, the terrain changed. The curves gave way to flat farmland and long, straight highways, and the speed limit increased. The road ahead was clear, predictable, and—at least for a while—easy to follow.

That shift always struck me. The winding roads kept us alert. The straight ones let us breathe.

Proverbs 3 invites us into that kind of spiritual trust—not because the road is always flat, but because the One who guides us is faithful. “Know him in all your paths,” the proverb says. Not just the easy ones. Not just the ones we planned. All of them.

Trusting God doesn’t mean we’ll avoid the winding roads of life. It means we don’t have to navigate them alone.

When we release our grip on self-reliance and lean into God’s wisdom, even the most tangled terrain can become a straight path—not in shape, but in purpose.

God doesn’t promise ease. But God does promise presence that makes all the difference. 

When the road stretches long and quiet, may we remember it’s not the shape of the path that matters, but the One who walks it with us.

God of every road, thank you for walking with us through winding hills and straight highways. Teach us to trust you—not just when the path is clear, but especially when it’s not. Help us to know you in all our ways, and to find your steady guidance in every turn. Amen.

Peace & Grace,

Pastor Tim