Trust is a funny thing. We are born programmed to trust. Babies depend wholly on their parents to meet their needs. As children grow, they become more independent and can do things for themselves. Young children take pride in doing things without help. My three year old glowed when I discovered she could help while I cooked supper by winding the swing when the baby cried. “That is wonderful! You did it yourself!” I would praise. While we praise self-sufficiency and independence, we can’t neglect the importance of trust in God. As people grow, they grow from trusting others to trusting themselves. God’s plan for us isn’t one of self-sufficiency, but trusting in His sufficiency. God is teaching me and re-teaching me the trust lesson. I’ve been searching for a job; I trust one day and panic the next. God came pretty close to hitting me with a hammer recently.
A couple of weeks ago I was teaching my class of six year olds in Sunday school. The lesson was on trust. Abram and Sarai had begun their journey, they had no idea where they were going, and they trusted God to lead them. God met all their needs on the way. He led them to the land He had promised them. It was all unknown, it must have been scary, but they trusted. The memory verse was Proverbs 3:5, Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Oh yes, God does have a sense of humour. “I wonder if these kids know that this lesson is really meant for me.” I thought. I taught the lesson to myself that Sunday.
The next day, Monday, I was on the computer doing my daily search on job sites. Nothing found. Frustrated, I checked my email. I have subscribed to Daily Hope, a daily email devotional from Rick Warren. http://purposedriven.com/blogs/dailyhope/index.html?contentid=9072 The topic that day was trust. “If you will trust God and keep on moving in faith, even when you don’t see a way, he will make a way.” The verse Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. Perhaps God was trying to say something? I was beginning to see a pattern.
On Tuesday I was talking with my Mom on the phone, she had just returned that day from a trip. We were discussing job leads and interviews, which jobs would work well with our family, which wouldn’t. Was there a job that would be a good fit? This was when my mother said, “Oh, I meant to tell you. I found a decal for your wall while I was away. I think you’ll really like it. It says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” I laughed out loud. “You’re kidding, right? Let me tell you about the past few days.”
I’ve heard poor Gideon beat up for his lack of trust; he experienced three miracles before he believed and obeyed. Three seemed to be my magic number too. Sometimes in a fearful state it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. I am so thankful that God is patient and keeps repeating the lesson until we hear what He is saying. This is my lesson: It’s not my job to fix this; it’s my job to trust. Our needs are met, God is in control. My prayer is that my spiritual attitude will become more and more childlike, wholly dependent on my Heavenly Father.
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