Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding – Proverbs 3:6
“Go for the gold! Don’t surrender!” Thelma yelled at the screen. “Who are you screaming at?” Stan questioned as he entered the living room. “Vince and Melvin, the two brothers on Beat Shazam debating whether to take a chance at doubling their money or leaving with a hundred and twenty-five thousand.” “And I gather you believe they should go after it.” “Absolutely! It’s what I would do,” Thelma assured. “Hey, weren’t you the very one during the last episode who, after screaming at two contestants to go for the gold, said they should have listened to their gut after losing their chance to double their money?” Stan asked. “And they should have, instead of listening to my voice,” Thelma responded with a smile.
It is easy to be advised to walk a different path when that other person isn’t wearing the shoes you are walking in. This assessment points to many factors, one of which is that the person offering an opinion is not personally invested; as the saying goes, they have “no skin in the game.” Most importantly, it needs to be remembered that “thy” in Proverbs 3:6 indicates that God uniquely tailors our paths and that they will differ from each other even if the goals are the same.
Staying on your path doesn’t mean excluding or ignoring sound advice from others. It just means that you are determined to listen for guidance and direction from the One who created the path you’re walking on.