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.
Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6 NIV

The doctors have recently spelled out the latest plan for treatment. The options have shrunk considerably since all others so far have failed. It took us a while to get our head around this news, with language like “palliative care” and “life expectancy” being used for the first time.

I have the opportunity to have a relatively new treatment which even 5 years ago wouldn’t have been an option for me. I’m very fortunate to have this treatment, but even so the success rate is just 50% and the treatment itself is quite complex and they’re not without side effects.

Unsuccessful treatment this time makes the future considerably more uncertain. Medically and Humanly speaking, it seems the odds have shifted away from me!
Spiritually however, this means my reliance on God has significantly increased. I know this is the right way round but it’s a difficult way to learn the lesson.

I guess I’m quite used to being self-reliant, so relying on God often only happens when I have exhausted all other avenues.
However, these verses do not say only trust in the Lord when everything else has failed. It says our own understanding will always be limited compared to God’s understanding of our situations. My job here is simple, but perhaps equally as hard, submit to and trust Him.

When our reliance on him increases, our trust in him requires us to put our faith in what we don’t fully understand. To put ourselves in a place where we may have to say “without God this is impossible”. Impossible gets you long odds at a bookmakers, but these are good odds for God because “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 NIV)
This requires us to look beyond the facts laid before us and look to an all knowing, all-seeing, ever-present God.

The promise that comes with these verses is that God “will make our paths straight”.
The truth is without submitting to God there will always be a element of uncertainty in our future because our understanding of what lies ahead will always be limited to our own understanding and not to his. But his timing is perfect and his knowledge is limitless and he will ultimately sort things out because he loves us and wants the best for us. He is a good God! I still believe this and resolve to trust in him with all my heart.