My husband and I vacationed in Maine last summer and spent a few days exploring Acadia National Park. One day, we decided to spend some time on Schoodic Peninsula–the quiet side of the park. Forests line the rocky granite formations along the coastline. It’s a lovely place to enjoy the beauty around us with hardly any people and only the sound of the waves and the wind.
Stopping at a turnoff, we ventured out along the coast. We peered down the rocky shoreline and wondered how far we could go. Enjoying adventure, we set out walking. The first part consisted of small cliffs of granite. It was fairly easy to step from stone to stone. Until the path became more precarious and steep. As I became less secure in my footing, Jason began to go ahead of me to determine the best path to take. Although it became more daunting, I trusted my husband to guide me. Sometimes he would coach me along; others he would physically help me. With his help, we trekked a long way.
That day was one of the best days of our trip, and I can’t help but see the God lesson in it. Jason knows me better than anyone else–my strengths and my weaknesses. His love and care for me helped me to trust him to lead me on a secure path. My nervousness lessened as I relied on his voice of confidence and reassurance.
Proverbs 3:5-6 is a well-known scripture to many–“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.” My husband’s guidance was an example of what the Lord offers me all the time…but in a completely perfect way. Where Jason could have underestimated the difficulty of the path or overestimated my skill, God’s guidance is infallible; he makes no mistakes. But this guidance doesn’t just happen automatically. We have to believe that dependence on ourselves falls far short of dependence on him. We have to let go of our plans and exchange them for God’s best. He asks us to submit to him, yielding ourselves to his complete authority. Trusting him to lead isn’t easy, and learning to listen to his voice takes time. The more we know him, the more we trust him. The more we reflect on his great love for us, the more we think of him as our only guide who leads us in safety and security.