Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. It sounds so simple yet so impossible. If I had not been so broken by life’s disappointments I wonder if it would be just as hard. But, other things have failed me; family, friend, jobs, possessions, love, and health I find myself doubting the Lord.
It is so hard for me to trust in that which I cannot yet see. I trust the sun will come up in the morning and the moon at night for I have never known a day when it did not. It is easy to trust when there is no test. But, what do we trust when we are in the fire and the flames are getting higher. We trust that there is a God. Nature and life proclaim it. We know without a doubt that we are not that perfect, and that wise. It is the first step.
We trust that He is bigger than we are. If you are like me you already tried and failed to do the job. You have been unable to blend the world to your desires. God spoke and made the Heavens and the Earth, flood the Earth when there had been no rain, parted the Red Sea, brought water from a desert rock, and raised the dead. Therefore, we fall back on trusting in a God bigger than ourselves. Step two we acknowledge that He can for if He cannot there is no hope.
Next come the hard question will He do it for me. Do I trust God enough to believe what He says about me? He says that I am loved, that I have value, that I have been bought with a price, and nothing can take me out of His hand. I am His child and that He has a hope and a future for me. It does not come easy for I know who I am, and who He is. God did it for David, for Paul, for Abraham, for the women at the well, and for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He has never turn anyone away or said you are not good enough. Christ blood will always cover us if we but ask forgiveness and He bestows on us His righteousness.
Fourth comes the real test do I trust Him enough to do the things He said I can. Can I stand and speak forth the things that He has said to be, or do I tremble in fear and said I cannot do it? Do I give up because I cannot see what is around the corner? Do I believe the lies and curses that other have spoken of me, or take my value from my Father?
Trust may not be easy for me, but it is not just wishful thinking. It is based on something more. I look at a chair and judge whether it will hold my weight for I have sat in chairs before and I have seen others sit. I have seen the Lord do for others and I have seen what He has done in the past for me. I have not been put to shame as Baal believers, for just as He did for Elijah, He has always answered me. He has not always answered in my time or the way I would have chosen, but He has answered. Still, I do not base my hope on what someone else has said about a stranger, but on a Father, I know. Therefore, when things look their darkest with no way of escape, I look for the light and trust that it will be there. I can go through the fire for I am not alone. I may fall down and be singed by my unbelief, but I will regain my sense, rise again, and run into the victory that He has promised for I know whom I have placed my trust and I know whom I have believed. The fire is never pleasant, nor the testing fun, but each time when it is over I am closer to Him. I do not have to understand the why of it, only be purified by the process. So I stretch my heart one more time and said, “ I can do all things through Him who strengthen me.”

Kathy Barnes
Copyright 5-23-09