The Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus is famous for the quote “change is the only constant in life.” The older I get, the more I come to realize that this is absolutely so true. We have three kids and the amount of change that has happened in the 14+ years of being parents is mind boggling. As soon as you get comfortable in one season, something else comes up and everything changes again. The sleepless nights that seemingly never end are quickly replaced by toddlers running around and these days I am scratching my head trying to figure how that toddler is heading to high school in a few short days.

Change is constant.

You know what else is constant, though? The faithfulness of God. The steadiness of his character is so comforting. The kindness he gives. The grace he pours out. I am even grateful for his correction and conviction. I have grown up so much since becoming a parent and thankfully this process will not end until I breathe my last breath. There have been so many times in my life that I go back to one verse in the Bible to remind me that I should not turn to what I think that I know.

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.”

Let’s break this down, shall we? .

1. “Trust in the Lord.”  This simply means that we shouldn’t trust ourselves. When we are faced with a problem we should be going to the Lord for guidance. How many times do you just go with something and not trust the Lord with it? Make it a habit to stop and ask yourself, “am I trusting the Lord in this situation?”
2. “With all your heart.” To me, this is a challenge for me to ask if I am serious about trusting God or just saying that I trust God. The answer to this question has been different over the years, but the more I have witnessed his faithfulness, the more I trust him truly with all of my heart.
3. “And lean not on your own understanding.” This is where the rubber meets the road. Our human default is to make the choice that “makes sense.” Sometimes the ways of the Lord do not make sense to us in the natural. We have to actually fight the tension of this one. We always think we know the best way and we can explain ourselves out of or into most any decision. This is where we are dying to ourselves daily and choosing to follow the ways of God. Try it. It isn’t as scary as it seems.
4. “In all of your ways,” This means exactly what it says. In ALL of your ways. Not just one way or some of your ways. ALL WAYS. When you don’t trust him in all of your ways are you really trusting him?
5. “Acknowledge him” This can sound silly, but I often find myself having a conversation back and forth with God. When I realize that my own understanding isn’t seeing all sides, I can say out loud, “God, you are so good. Thank you for convicting my heart and pushing me to make the better and wiser choice. Include him in the conversation. He really likes that.
6. “And he will make your path straight.” This is one of those areas that you will see over and over. He might not make your path straight in the way you think he should or in the timing that you think is best, but you can put your trust in the fact that he works all things out for our good. There have been so many times when I have let go of my way and trusted him and he is so faithful in each step. I can even look back and see where his wisdom was so much better than my own because there were some things that I just could not see.

In short, I urge you to trust in the Lord with everything that you’ve got. It is worth it every time. When we model this to our kids, then they are seeing this and learning it for their own life. We tell our kids all the time that we trust God and we really can’t afford not to. Write this scripture down on a notecard. Memorize it. Read it daily and apply it to each stage that you walk through with your kids. I promise, He won’t let you down. 

Written By: Taran Nelson, Executive Director, Fathom Family Foundation