On Bad Luck and Difficult Paths
Often we think that difficulty in life, or set backs and obstacles are the result of bad luck. Or we’ll put these things in the category of “that’s just life, I guess”
But what if there’s a different cause? Proverbs 19:3 says, “The foolishness of a man twists his way, and his heart frets against the Lord”. It’s much easier to believe in a random type of “we never know what’s next” in life, but what if in actuality we have a much larger part to play in how things turn out than we thought?
I like to compare this Proverbs 19:3 with Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight.” Prov. 19:3 is the antithesis of Prov. 3:5-6! And the message is clear:
A big determinant of the quality of the life we lead (big enough for these verses to not add any qualifiers!) is my trust in God and my acknowledgement of Him in my ways.
To trust Him is for my paths to be made straight (smooth, successful). To fret against the Lord is to allow for bad judgement, and non God-fearing choices, which cause my path to become twisted and difficult. Check out Proverbs 15”19 for back up: for the righteous. It actually says, for the believer, “life is a highway!”
Application:
When life is difficult, instead of assuming a luck-issue, examine your heart for “trust issues” between you and God.
In what areas of life do you need to “throw the care over on God” 1 Pet. 5:7. Don’t fret, choose to trust Him.
How has the path of your life been “twisted” and difficult? Can you trace this to decisions you made outside of trusting God, or when your heart was fretful?
Have you made mistakes? Maybe huge ones? Have regrets or shame? Thank Jesus that He is the one who makes your path straight from this point forward, and that all you have to do to qualify for this is to “trust Him” and “acknowledge” Him. Thank Him that He has made you righteous and invited you into trusting Him. Make it a life-style!