Have you ever tried to draw a straight line freehand?
I used to do that sometimes at school when I was bored. I would look at the straight lines already printed on the paper and try to see if I could make mine look just as straight. I’d go slow, then I’d try going faster, but no matter what I did, the line was always a little off.
Then I’d grab a ruler, and everything changed. Vertical, horizontal, diagonal... it didn’t matter. If the line was drawn according to the standard of the ruler, it came out straight.
I think life can be like that too. I can try to live according to what seems right to me. I can look at my own thoughts, my own feelings, my own plans, and think, “This looks straight enough.” But my understanding is not always a trustworthy standard.
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but its end is the way of death.”
That is a serious reminder. Something can seem right to me and still lead me in the wrong direction. That is why I need more than my own opinion, my own instincts, or my own ability to figure things out. I need the Lord to guide me.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
That is the difference. I cannot make my own path straight just by trying harder. I need the standard of God’s Word. I need His wisdom. I need to trust Him enough to acknowledge Him in every part of my life, even the parts where I think I already know what I’m doing.