Straight and Narrow

For the student contemplating their future plans:

Yesterday, after changing my major, I didn’t know where my new classes were located, let alone where they were leading me. As we navigate our way through college, it often feels like we are wandering in the vast wilderness. Lost and alone, with no destination in sight. Striving to survive, one assignment and class at a time.

In the Old Testament, when God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land, the path was not easy. Exodus 13:17-18 states, “God did not lead them on the road that was shorter… He led the people around by the desert road.” 

The Lord chose to lead them through the desert. Through the wilderness. Through the Red Sea. They journeyed for forty years, without sight of the Promised Land in front of them. Instead, the Lord’s presence went before them, in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, leading their way (Exodus 13:21). They learned to depend on the Lord, step by step, mile by mile, to guide them.

When you feel lost, contemplating your major and your future, remember who is leading you. The Lord may not literally guide you by a pillar of fire, but when you trust in Him with your whole heart instead of leaning on your own understanding, He promises to make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

Pray for guidance and discernment, but remember: the decision to walk the straight and narrow path is more important than the decision of which career path to take. For it is the only path which leads to eternal life.