Total Trust

                           "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
                                                       Corrie Ten Boom




Anxiety is the antithesis of faith. George Mueller says, "The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." I have heard it said that the definition of anxiety is waiting for something bad to happen. We are told in God's word that we are commissioned to expect God to work all things together for the good. It occurs to me that we cannot both be waiting for something bad to happen if we are expecting that God will work things together for our good. This becomes a conundrum, especially when we see horrific things that are occurring in the earth.

I am writing this blog on the eve before hurricane Florence will bear down on the East Coast. Millions of people will be affected by this storm and it is already expected to cost this country about 28 billion dollars in expenses. Lives and businesses will be affected in adverse ways and many people will be extremely worried about the outcome of this natural disaster. As a matter of fact, there may even be those "whose hearts will fail them because of fear" (Luke 21:26). I personally am aware of this happening during hurricane Irma.

Max Lucado has said that anxiety is the spirit of this age, and is it any wonder when we see hurricanes, floods, fires, as well as human atrocities around the world. In addition to natural disasters and human atrocities, there also seems to be increasing incidents of suicides, marital implosions, drug epidemics, illnesses, and the like. I don't know if its just my age where I am noticing more things, but it also occurs to me that many of the christians I know are facing major challenges and battles.

This brings me to my knees as I seek to understand how it is that we can learn to trust God more. Daily I do experience "opportunities" to lean on Him more and to fully submit my heart to trust Him, but I must admit that worry is a generational legacy that I continually seek to overcome. I realize that worry is no friend and I relish the day I can place my flag of victory over it once and for all.

The problem is that there are just so many opportunities to engage with it. My most recent excuse happened last week when Brent and I went up to move Abbie into her dorm for her second year of college at BU. Things went well and we got her all situated, met some new friends and even met some students she was involved with in Campus Crusade. We were both energized as we left (sad, too) knowing that this was going to be a great year for her. As a matter of fact, we were discussing just this as we sat at our gate in the airport when we received a frantic phone call from the sweet girl we had just gotten settled.

She called Brent's phone (probably thinking he is more calm than her sometimes histrionic mother) and she told us that her dorm room was on fire. We could hear the fire trucks in the background and the police also were there. She was emotional and crying and we honestly weren't sure if we should board the plane or what we should do. Thankfully, things calmed down before we had to leave and we found out that the fire was out and no one was hurt. There was a lot of water damage, and now, a week later, she is still displaced and hasn't been able to return to her dorm room.

It was ruled an accident and they think what happened was that a light bulb exploded and caught some towels that were in the closet on fire. Enter worry. The dorm building is old. Another dorm building burned to the ground when we were in Boston (again, thankfully, no one was hurt). Will she be safe this year? Shoot, this concern wasn't even on my radar to worry about last year! It is true that when things are more difficult in our lives it is harder to trust God with our whole heart. And yet, that is exactly what we must do.

Once again, I must leave this and all else in the very capable hands of God.  I must learn how to totally trust Him with every detail of my life. Merriam-Webster defines trust as "the belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, or effective". Cognitively, we know that God is all this and so much more! So, why do we struggle?

It has been said that trust is like a muscle that we possess. The more we exercise it and use it and strengthen it, the stronger it will become. Daily, we all have opportunities to strengthen our trust muscle.

Using the example of the dorm fire, the first thing I needed to do was to surrender myself and this problem to the Lord. Choosing to give up control and worry, I ask God for His help and intervention in my circumstance. Brent and I prayed with Abbie on the phone and tried to help her do the same thing. We relinquish our own strength and believe that God will accomplish His purposes in His strength.

The next thing I needed to do (and still need to do) is to replace my negative thoughts with positive ones. Obviously, we are called to do the prudent thing too, so we first asked the university to have a licensed electrician sign off on the safety of her dorm building. They agreed. So now, I need tho remind myself that God has things covered and that Abbie is in the palm of His hands. The promise He gives me for her is, "For I will contend with him who contends with [her], and I will save (defend, preserve, rescue, deliver) your children" (Isaiah 49:25). I cling to this promise and recite it when I start to feel anxious.

The last thing I need to do is to be patient until I see how God answers our prayers. While Abbie is waiting to return to her dorm, It is important that she remember that there is purpose in the things God allows into our lives. In this case, maybe it was so the building would be safer after inspections and electricians making sure things were up to standard. Maybe it was to teach her a greater measure of trust and patience. Maybe it was both.

The book of Lamentations teaches us that God's mercies are new every morning and that great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). This means that we only have mercies for one day at a time. If I worry about tomorrow, I do not have mercies for that. Only for today. John R. Stott  says, ""Faith is a reasoning trust, a trust which reckons thoughtfully and confidently on the trustworthiness of God."

The most important thing we can learn in a practical way is that we truly can trust God with every aspect of our lives. We should expect goodness and favor from the Lord. This does not guarantee a care-free life but when we totally trust God, we know that He will work miracles on our behalf. He will move the mountains that stand in our way. When we totally trust Him, we will see Him show up on our behalf!


    "I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse."
                                                            Philip Yancey

         ** PLEASE BE IN PRAYER FOR THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE FLORENCE**