Introduction: One of the many blessings I had when I married decades ago is that my wife’s family was deeply Christian. One of her grandfathers was a Christian minister of decades. Her dad was among the godliest of men I’ve ever known. He has since gone on to be with the Lord. Her mother was and is as committed of a Christian woman as you’ll find. Her family, in almost every direction, is shaped by the transforming power of the Christian gospel. When Ray, my wife’s maternal grandfather, retired from ministry, he spoke at church and delivered some of his parting remarks to the body of people he had served for years. He told us, in short, these words: “I’ve been in Christian ministry for decades, serving churches throughout the South and beyond. A passage of Scripture that has sustained me through years and years of ministry is Proverbs 3:5-6.” He went on and spoke on those two verses.

If you’re like I, I don’t remember ever not knowing Proverbs 3:5-6. For folks perhaps unfamiliar, here are the verses:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths. (Pr 3:5-6)

I don’t remember the rest of Ray’s talk that day. But I do remember him using that text. Ray’s point was simple: Trust the Lord and just labor to be faithful.

Question: Have you ever been at a place in your life where you told yourself you were trusting the Lord but you still felt that your future paths were anything but clear or straight? That is, if we are honest, there are times of confusion about where to go, whether to endure toxic leadership, etc. As a friend of mine at work says, “That guy is compromised, Chaplain.” How to navigate waters where dangers lurk beneath the surface demands wise, discerning, mature Christians, rather than puerile upstarts.

Ray’s talk comes back to me often: Trust the Lord and just labor to be faithful.

Encouragement: Many, many moons ago when I was ordained by my fellow elders and some of my professors into Christian ministry, one of my mentors preached in our church that morning on two verses from Acts 20. They were verses 29-30 of Acts 20:

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Ac 20:29-30)

What my professor was teaching me is what perhaps you, too, have discovered in years of trying to minister faithfully–namely, that many times, people come in but their real reason is what the Bible says there in verse 30 … “to draw away the disciples after them.” In other words, it’s not about the glory of God. The motive is, in fact, altogether different. Paul spells it out plainly in verse 30.

The apostle Paul knew it. He taught about it extensively. He would be martyred for telling the truth. And still I hear Ray’s voice in the back of my mind: Trust the Lord and just labor to be faithful.