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
 
Did you know that Jesus sampled this passage in his teaching? 
 
In Matthew 7, near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about a pair of paths. The paths have different features, different populations, and different outcomes. One is well populated and the other has few travelers. One is broad and the other is straight and narrow. One leads to destruction and the other to life.
 
This teaching on “the straight and narrow” comes toward the end of Jesus’ most famous sermon. It can be so tempting to apply this teaching as a form of “I better straighten up and fly right or else!” But instead Jesus encourages us to lean into him, to depend on him, to relax into him.
 
The echo of the proverbial straight path reminds us that trusting Jesus is how we get to holiness, righteousness, and life. Not from our good behavior. Not from our performance. Only through our relationship with Jesus.
 
Take a few minutes today and list as many reasons you can think of that Jesus deserves your trust. Think about his character, his deeds, his teaching, his passions, his compassion. Leverage this reflection exercise to deepen your trust in him.