Proverbs is one of the most quoted books of the Bible. Everyone seems to know or has heard those often-quoted words of wisdom and advice. But do they really work? Are they effective?
Has anyone ever gotten any real success out of these sagacious verses written thousands of years ago? Well, I once had my doubts. Then, my son was born.
In the Bible, specifically in Proverbs, there is great wisdom concerning how to live a happy and peaceful life. So much so that one might find it unfathomable that people would not read and follow this well-known Old Testament book. Of course, not everyone reads Proverbs.
Consequentially, many never follow its prodding. That is indeed a shame, for as we look at our world today, never has it been so necessary, so vital, to get to know the powerhouse of Proverbs and what it has to offer. It is not merely individual humans who need advice and guidance; it is the entire world.
As for me, there is one particular piece of advice from Proverbs that has carried me through countless challenges. It is Proverbs 3:5-6: “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.”
What incredible words these are to live by, but it is that last part in Proverbs 3:6, “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”— that changed my life irrevocably and literally “created the lives” of those whom I hold dear — my son and my grandchildren.
Allow me to tell you how this came to be.
Many years ago, in Wisconsin, it was an especially cold, snowy winter. Then again, is there ever not “an especially cold, snowy winter in Wisconsin?” I did not think about it much growing up, but now that I am a little older and wiser, I can say, without a doubt, that all of Wisconsin’s winters are especially cold and snowy.
In fact, I challenge you to ask any Wisconsinite to say otherwise. Speaking of snow, someone once said, “There are two things everyone in Wisconsin knows about — cheese and snow. It is good to eat all the yellow cheese you want, but it is not good to eat the yellow snow.”
But my story actually began in the summer, long before the first snow fell that year.
Wisconsin had an unusually early spring, warm and beautiful. Lake Michigan combined with other smaller, nearby lakes to create refreshing breezes.
There was green all around, brilliant-colored flowers, chirping birds with bright orange chests, and more than enough excuses to eat plenty of ice cream, which Wisconsinites do abundantly. (I would be remiss if I did not point out that in Wisconsin, it is “custard,” not “ice cream,” which reigns supreme as the cold, creamy confection of first choice).
When I graduated from college, about the time summer began, I landed a wonderful job. Two years prior, I had married a fellow student. Now, at my graduation, a baby was on the way.
The baby was due in October, so by August, we were making big plans, and everyone knew all about our good news on the way.
Our parents, our brothers, my sisters, my wife’s sorority sisters, and my co-workers all knew the baby was coming in October. You could say there was only one particularly important person who did not know and did not care about the arrival date — the baby.
The pregnancy was a bit challenging but normal. There was morning sickness, backaches, cramps, doctor visits, and even false labor. Normal, right? Unfortunately, our pregnancy took a turn from normal to frightening when my wife started bleeding.
Then, her water broke. The night that happened, I immediately put her in the car and rushed her to the nearest hospital.
After I made sure the doctor and the nurses were taking care of her, I ran to admit my wife. As soon as I finished the paperwork, a very cheerful nurse said, “Your wife just gave birth.”
I could not believe it. It was too fast. More than that, it was too soon. We were not ready.
When our premature son was born, he weighed a little over two pounds. His internal organs had not fully grown and formed. With his heart and lungs still undeveloped, he was immediately placed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The proximity of our university hospital, considered one of the best in the country, was a blessing to us. A world-class team of physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and dietitians was already in place, and they swung into action.
Our baby was put into an incubator with a ventilator, cardio-respiratory monitor, an IV pump, a pulse oximeter, and all kinds of other life-support equipment.
There were always people crowded around his incubator, even medical students, marveling at his premature status. Somehow, all those people made us feel safe. As is easy to do, we did not turn to God first.
Medical experts soon met with us to tell us that our newborn son needed to undergo heart surgery in order to close a hole in his heart. The medicine he had been taking was not working. They told us the risks in performing surgery on the heart of a two-pound baby.
We were not sure what to do. That is when we slowly turned to God for our primary comfort. Although I did not know this exact proverb at the time, I knew that I was “acknowledging” Him, “submitting” to His will. My wife and I knew we needed God’s guidance to tell us what to do — “to make our path straight.”
‘Lord, Tell Me, Is He Going to Live?’
August in Wisconsin ended, and with it, those warm summer breezes gave way to cooler temperatures and, eventually, a frigid wind.
As September and October passed, the green landscape disappeared. The birds seemed to stop singing. The flowers were dying. On the other hand, our son was thriving. The surgery had been a success!
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:6).
But even with that good news, he was still in the hospital. Think about it, born in August and staying in the hospital all of September and all of October. As one nurse put it, “He has some good days and some bad days. Either way, he is not ready to come home yet.”
By now, my wife and I were on our knees regularly as we began to see the value of acknowledging God and submitting to Him in all things.
We still had palpable frustration. In fact, our happiness was rooted in those “good days” and what was considered to be a good “gas measurement.”
A gas measurement took place when the nurse drew blood, usually from sticking a needle in our son’s little heel. The goal was to measure the amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and acid in his blood.
The better the reading of his gases, the sooner he could come off the respirator. The sooner he could come home.
“Doctor,” we would ask repeatedly. “When can we take him home?”
“I do not know. Hopefully soon,” she said.
Once I asked a heavy and scary question that was always in the back of our minds. “Is he going to live?”
“Let’s put it this way,” she said, “every day he lives is a chance he will live another day.”
It was at the moment of her response that I realized, more than ever, that I could no longer depend on the doctors, nurses, medicines, surgery, breathing machines, or good gas readings. I had to submit fully to God. I did, and things got better.
But did you ever notice when you were on a good road, and things were moving well, that a big bump or even a big pothole comes out of nowhere and messes up everything?
Well, that is exactly what happened when the doctor called us into her office, pointed to a group of x-ray slides on her wall, and told us the worst news we could ever possibly want to hear.
When acknowledging God became harder…
For further reading:
If We Acknowledge God, Will He Direct Our Paths?
Why Christians Shouldn't Choose Joy (and What to Choose Instead)
Is it Biblical ‘Where God Guides, He Provides’?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/jacoblund
Floyd Nelson Jr., who just finished a stint working as a Senior Outreach and Communications Specialist for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has worked in the field of journalism and communications for decades. His focus now lies at the intersections of communications, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. His ultimate desire is “to bring the world together.”