“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)
I’m the type of person who, when partaking in a group project, comes to the conclusion that I must do everything myself if I want it to done right. I don’t trust people to produce high-quality work and earn an “A” grade for all of the group’s members. It’s just not who I am. In a similar way, I often don’t trust God to help me find the right path in life, and most relevant to me currently, for my future career.
Like many other seniors, I’m entering a new stage of life: graduating from college in April and hopefully starting a professional career in May or soon after graduation. With so many unknowns and decisions as I prepare and plan and panic, I tell myself God doesn’t do job interviews for me and He doesn’t graduate from college for me, so why should I trust Him to take care of my problems?
I know fellow Oklahoma Christian University seniors and I are not the only ones debating on how long to trust God during times of change.
When Moses was on Mount Sinai, talking with God and receiving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites gave up on trusting God and took matters into their own hands. Exodus 32 tells us the Israelites, along with the help of Moses’s brother Aaron, made a golden calf and worshiped it until Moses came down the mountain and smashed the newly-etched Commandments in his anger towards their distrust.
On the other end of the spectrum, there have been people like Joshua, who wholeheartedly trusted God, and, because of his faith, he brought down the wall of Jericho, entered the Promised Land and successfully commanded the sun and moon to sit still in the sky.
Why is it so hard to trust God like Joshua did?
Sometimes I blame my unbelief and distrust on the fact miracles no longer occur — at least not that I’ve seen — and if I can’t see God’s power, then I don’t think His power will help me. Other times I think I struggle because I’ve possessed the “If you want it done right, do it yourself” mentality since childhood.
This is where Proverbs 3:5-6 come into play. Telling people — and in this case, college seniors — not to lean on their own understanding and trust God will make their paths straight is a difficult message to sell because the infinity of unknowns in the near future. Some people look into the abyss and jump in with full confidence and faith. Others need a hand to hold or a clear sign showing where to go.
As I begin my final semester of college, I try to remind myself and my classmates that although God isn’t here in person to do a job interview or take our final exams, He is opening doors and hearts that will set us on the path He wishes us to take. Just because we can’t see Him working doesn’t mean He isn’t helping us, and we should give Him a little more credit for the work He has done in our lives by trusting Him.
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