Our lives, especially during troublesome times, seem to be like a winding river. There are so many obstacles that get in the way. It seems we are not even around one turn, when suddenly there is another. If we look at the overall circumstances, our troubles can seem insurmountable. Sometimes, we have to stop inside one of the bends and break down. We call it rest, when what we really we feel is defeat, and want to give up altogether. It’s usually then, when we take our eyes off of what is right in front of us to look down the river at all the turns we still must face, that hope starts to fade.
Yet, if we could see what the river looked like to God, we wouldn’t worry long over our current circumstances. If that winding river all of a sudden turned calm, peaceful, and straight, we’d gladly keep moving. The truth is, we have to have faith that God will make the winding river of life a straight path for us, even though we can’t see it. God knows where we are going. He knows what we will learn or what purpose will be born out of our difficulty.
When we are able to look back, after the circumstances are gone, we will see that the river behind us is straight. Will the river ahead look straight? No. But we can envision that calm, peaceful river through our faith and know that God will make it straight for us.
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Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. Luke 3:5
In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6
