“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Trust, -noun: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
~I trust God. If someone were to ask me if I believe in the integrity, strength and ability of God, I would answer with certainty that yes I surely do. At least I do a great job of convincing myself of it. However, when I make a decision, I don’t very often stop to run it by God. I almost always take the time to run it by people though; my husband, my best friend, my mom. When something upsets me, yes I do pray, or consider praying. In most cases though, I pick up my phone, I call my husband, or my mom or my dear friend Katie or Amber. Instantly, I feel better by their love and strength. Their advice means everything to me. Whoa. How scary is that? It sounds an awful lot like I trust people more than God. Is it because people have proved to be a better source of strength, trustworthiness, and advice? Certainly not. Is it because of instant gratification, (such a scary phenomenon in our culture) the tangible, unmistakable and immediate comfort? Yes, I believe it is.
It is so hard to follow through on a trust that we can’t always clearly see the results of. We are asked to rely on and trust in Jesus above all else. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14:1 NIV. The very act of believing in God involves trust. To believe is to trust, to have confidence in. He is so worthy of it. He wants the very best for us, and we truly cannot change what he has planned for us in this life. It isn’t instant though. There are seasons of complete confusion, a transition with nothing to transition to. We are asked to lie in wait, to wait upon the Lord for His perfect answer. When the Israelites were led out of slavery in Egypt they surely thought the Promised Land was right around the corner. They were being saved! But no, they had to wander the desert for 40 years before they could enter the land the Lord had promised them. If we wait upon the Lord, we will never lose out, He follows through on every promise He makes. “The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time.” Psalm 145: 13b-15 Deep down I think we all know this, but Satan has a horrible way of planting a seed in our mind that takes root in the part of our brain that demands things to happen instantly. I would love to patiently wait and trust on God, but I often find myself panic stricken. I feel as if I am sitting idly by watching opportunities disappear, and if I took matters into my own hands I would be all set. I would have that job that just happens to be hiring, I would know I am taking care of myself. No one could call me lazy. Plus, how do I know that the little voice in my mind isn’t just me trying out different theories, or even worse, or maybe the same, is Satan trying to control my fate? I believe that this is one of the devils most deceiving and terrifying lies; that maybe that inkling isn’t the Holy Spirit, and you never really will know. I brought this subject up with a wise friend of mine, who very insightfully said “I just find that I have to ask Him to open and close doors for me”. How simple. I have been testing this theory in my own life since she offered the advice only a week ago. I have never felt more at peace. The worry that I may not get the memo from God is almost all but gone. I have seen at least one door close, and the fact that the door closing didn’t sadden me shows that He does have a greater plan. A few doors have opened, one just barely a crack and I’m still waiting for the invitation to step through it. The other was only a seed planted in my heart almost a year ago, that grew even more 8 months ago, and became a door pushed open by His doing in early August. Through a sad and difficult decision, an unexpected door slamming shut, I was given the chance to finally walk through that new door. I entered the Pregnancy Care Center on Tuesday for the very first time, and as the volunteer coordinator spoke to me about how she came to be at the center, I felt such a sense of certainty wash over me that I almost couldn’t hear her words. Events from the whole span of my life were flashing through my mind like God was saying to me “Rachel, remember this? And this? And this thing that happened before you were even born? This is why. I have wanted you here since I created you”. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” Jeremiah 1:5a NIV. In light of this I ask myself, how could I not trust? He knows me better than anyone else, and His integrity is perfect. When I don’t trust it causes Him pain, and I am constantly guilty of that. I will admit that I may hold a grudge when I am not trusted, and at the very least, I will never forget it. Jesus does though. He forgives, and as if that isn’t enough, He forgets. And we are given the chance over and over again to say we trust in Him, only to obliterate that statement with a phone call to a friend that takes precedence over calling out to Him.
Today I am challenging myself and you to call Him first, to trust Him, and to wait PATIENTLY. If I call you, you are welcome to gently ask me first if I have called on Him yet. Encouragement from people is a beautiful thing and it has its place. But it comes last, and He comes first. Only He knows what is best for me. There is a reward for our trust in Him, and it is joy.
“Oh, the joys of those who trust in the Lord” Psalm 40:4a NLT
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLT
