Straight

” In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”   Proverbs 3:6

Straight – The root word (yashar) means to be level, straight, just or lawful.  In its derivations, it is often connected with the idea of law keeping and uprightness.  It frequently means to make a straight path, free of obstacles and level.  This was the kind of path made for a king.  Some translations of this verse read “he shall direct your path” but that isn’t quite the right sense.  God doesn’t push you out on your way without making the road ahead straight, level and clear.  It is both the work of God for man, as in this verse, and also the work of man for God (Isaiah 40:3).  Uprightness is a lifestyle characterized by being blameless.  This is a person of discernment.

God grants us the ability to recognize His law and to walk in it.  In one important derivative, the word is an attributive adjective of God Himself, emphasizing His righteousness and His reign over all people.  The person who is judged to have straight paths from God’s viewpoint is said to have that quality of heart that enables him to be obedient to God’s will.  This promise claims that our dependence (trust) on God will allow Him to straighten out our lives.  We do not need to struggle with the mechanics of how this will be done.  We are asked only to trust Him and not ourselves and He will do the rest.  It is a blessing for us to know that God is willing and able to repair what we have damaged if we only surrender ourselves to Him in all our endeavors.  After years of struggling, it is a wonderful promise of grace to realize that our lives can be characterized by blamelessness and discernment.  God does work miracles.  This verse makes it clear.  All of the crooked paths, all of the bends and curves, all of the mess that we have made, He will straighten.  It is going to be painful, but the result will be a life of blameless freedom.

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