Trust God
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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
I learned this passage as a child. From my earliest Sunday School teacher until the present, I have listened to the importance of trusting in God. Trust in God and he will direct your paths (the assumption here is that those paths will be easy). Trust in God and you will have eternal life. Trust in God and he will care for your needs. Trust in God and he will answer your prayers. Trust in God and he will comfort you. Trust in God and your enemies will be destroyed. Trust in God and no evil will befall you.
There are, indeed, scripture passages throughout the Bible that state these things quite clearly. And, when one has a blessed life, like mine was as a child, it is easy to claim these “truths.” I trusted God, or at least I thought I did. Things went well for me. I had a good family with loving parents. I did well in school. I was never in want. Quite the opposite; I had more than I needed. God directed me to my wife. I felt God’s leadership into ministry. Truly God was directing my paths and caring for me because I did such a good job of trusting in him.
Since those early years, however, life has not been so simple. For 20 years I struggled with my ministry positions. I prayed, “Surely, this is not what you have for me, Lord?” My wife and I anguished over our infertility for seven years. “I’ve been praying for a child, Lord. How come we don’t have one yet?” After we adopted two beautiful children, we discovered one of them struggled with learning and emotional disabilities. “Heal my son, Lord. How come he still suffers so?” Two years ago I was fired from my staff position at a fairly large church. I went without work for seven months trying to find something else. “I trusted you to protect me from heartache, Lord. Why did I have to go through this humiliation? I trust you to direct my paths, Lord. Why is it taking so long to find a new job?”
I’m still learning about trust. I’ve heard people say that when my prayers aren’t answered or the pathway is dark, that I’m not trusting enough. Personally, I reject such fair weather theology as rubbish. Trust is not trust until you have walked alone in the darkness, lost your footing on the path, been attacked by ruthless enemies, despaired over illness that does not go away. When we turn to God in the midst of the pain and suffering of life, we demonstrate true trust.
Trust happens when I turn to God and say, “I don’t understand, but I believe you do.” Trust happens when I admit my inability to bring change and tell God “You’re my only hope.” Trust happens when I can’t find my way and finally turn it over to God with a willingness to accept whatever God provides.
The trust I learned as a child was part of a reciprocal bargain with God. If I trusted in God, then God would do something for me–guide me, answer my prayers, comfort me, etc. I no longer see trust as so simple a contract. I trust now, not in order to receive some blessing from God. I trust now because I’ve learned that I am not god over life and am powerless in the face of many circumstances and situations. So I turn my face to the one who is not powerless–the all Powerful God–believing that God alone has the power to affect life, bring change, and open pathways.
Obviously, God desires that we trust in him. However, I’m learning that if our trust cannot withstand the darkest valleys and the driest deserts, then it is not trust at all. God takes no pleasure in a trust that only seeks to get something from God. Rather, God is pleased with that trust that places all things in his hands regardless of the outcome. That’s how I show God my love.
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