“Are we there yet?” is a familiar question for dads traveling with kids. Going from point A to B requires proper guidance, like trusting God as your compass. God is your True North; without Him, you won’t reach your destination. Your family follows where your life points. So, where does your life point? Tool #1: TRUSTING GOD. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Prov. ‭3‬:‭5). Trust God fully—your heart, mind, and actions. Proverbs explains how crucial it is to fight pride and reject worldly wisdom, to rely on God instead of yourself. Self-reliance leads to sin and failure. Trusting God means committing your thoughts and actions to His will. Your own understanding is not good enough. We often trust in the wrong things. There are magnetic forces that move you in directions other than North. Distractions like HEALTH—assuming your family will be healthy; MONEY—that your past wins mean you can’t lose; POWER—that the next step in the corporate ladder will cover your sin to get there. Instead of trusting these things, trust Him and set the right example in your home. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Prov. ‭3‬:‭6‬). Acknowledge God and His ways so that your thoughts and actions are shaped by Him. Does He shape every area of your life? Trust in God through temptations, as a compass points north. You may turn away, but God always pulls you toward the truth, remaining your constant guide.

HOW TO BE A MAN OF INTEGRITY: Benjamin Franklin (as “Poor Richard”) is credited with saying, “Little strokes fell great oaks.” In other words, something monumental can be reduced to rubble through a series of seemingly small compromises. Today, we’d call that a lack of integrity. God has created you to live as a man of integrity, but a compromise here or there can bring everything crashing to the ground. If you’re longing to build on a foundation of personal integrity, you’ve come to the right place. This post offers some solid “markers” to help you determine where you are and to figure out where you need to improve.

TRUSTING GOD AS YOUR TRUE NORTH: Trust is hard to earn because it’s so easy to lose. We’ve all experienced the pain of putting our complete trust in someone only to end up feeling betrayed or abandoned. Thankfully, as Christ followers, we serve a God who can be trusted in every season of life, even when those closest to us miss the mark. Trusting God is a non-negotiable for living the Christian life well—and for becoming the godly man your kids and wife need.