Can I trust God?

I hope you are enjoying the book posts this week on Facebook, as well as the new page on the website called The Bookshelf. During this global pandemic, reading is a good way to have an adventure and to learn new things. I am thankful that states are opening back up for us to have our own adventures, though.

My little family of three went on an adventure to Red River Gorge, KY yesterday. My husband has always loved hiking, but in the last year he's had a work schedule that allows him one day off per week. During that day off, he often travels to the Gorge to explore. He took us on a trail yesterday to see Star Gap Arch. The trails in the Gorge are not well marked, well at least this one wasn't. He knew where he was going, so I followed, and really didn't give it a second thought.

We saw some amazing sites! My daughter, who I'm pretty sure has no fear, got as close to the edge as we would let her. Randy is a photog, so he took lots of photos - much to the chagrin of the teenager. I enjoyed seeing the wildflowers along the trail and touching the moss on the living wall. Not the slimy stuff, just the stuff that feels like carpet. We had a good day. Don't anyone freak out, we maybe saw 10 people along the way, and we had plenty of distance between us!

I was reminded of the awesomeness of God. How creative He is to come up with all of those different rock formations, trees, temperatures, flowers, heights, depths, and textures. I was also reminded, as I followed my husband back to the car, that I fully and completely put my trust in him to lead me in and lead me out on that trail. Now, had I been alone, I may have paid better attention and kept my bearings to get myself in and out, but I hadn't paid attention. I went with the flow, knowing that I could trust my husband to take care of Brianna and me and not lead us astray. Then my thoughts shifted to God. If I can so easily trust my husband in this way, why do I struggle so much to trust God? I mentioned this to Randy as we were walking back to the car, and he said, "Hmm, that sounds like a blog post to me."

So, here goes...

Why is trusting a person easier than trusting God? This is where I started spinning the idea of trust around in my head. I have a 19 year relationship with my husband, 1 dating/engaged and 18 married. However, I have a 33 year relationship with the Lord. I should be well versed in trusting Him with all aspects of my life. I have His Word to depend upon. I have prayer to communicate with Him. I have a history that I can look back on and remember His faithfulness. The only thing I don't have right now is Him here with skin on. Holy Spirit lives in me, so I can depend on Him anytime, but instead of trusting, I try to control my own situation. It should be far easier to trust God's plan, and live my life believing that each step will bring Him glory if done in love and a desire to please Him. Micah 6:8 says"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." I've seen this verse around a great deal in the last few weeks. It applies to our whole lives, not just a season. In my mind, if we are walking humbly with God, then we are also trusting Him.

When we are walking with God do we walk behind, beside, or in front? I think the position depends on the situation. Randy hates it when I walk behind him! He wants me to let him lead, but he feels like I've put myself in a place of subjection by following behind. But, he doesn't really like it when I walk ahead of him either, unless it is a chivalrous situation where he is letting me go first. He prefers that we walk side by side. There are times, when I believe God does want us to follow behind Him, especially when He is taking us someplace new. God led the Israelites from Egypt with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to be with them, but also to keep the people moving putting that much more distance between them and Egypt (Exodus 13:21-22). I don't know what your cloud and fire may be, but I believe there are times when we follow behind God. Likewise, God compares Himself to our shepherd many times in Scripture, and us as sheep. If you want to study this in depth, I suggest you check out Jennifer Rothschild's Bible study Psalm 23. Shepherds lead from all three positions: sometimes he walks in front, sometimes he walks beside, and sometimes he herds from behind. Our God is the good shepherd! We can trust Him to lead us. Ever wanted to see if the scripture saying that the sheep hear His voice is true (John 10)? Check out this video on YouTube video of a modern day farmer.

Our God wants to give us good gifts. We can trust God, because He has our best interest at heart. In Luke 11, Jesus is teaching about prayer, which includes asking God for what we want. Jesus uses a metaphor to paint the picture in verse 11-13:

“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?

“Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Jesus specifically focuses on the gift of the Holy Spirit in this passage, but just before this He teaches that we should ask, seek, and knock. We are to be persistent in prayer asking for what we want. He will not deliver a snake in place of a fish. We may not get the answer that we thought we would get, but we can trust that the answer will be what is best for us.

This post is a bit like the winding path we were on yesterday, and definitely like the spaghetti brain that is in my head. One thought leads to another. In sum, just as I can put my trust in my husband, I can trust the Lord all the more. I hope you have someone in your life whom you can trust and can be the picture of Christ for you. If you don't, you can still know without a shadow of a doubt, God is worthy of your trust. You can depend on Him to take care of you every step of the way. Dig into your Bible and read the words where He has helped people all along the way. I suggest you start with the New Testament and develop a relationship with Jesus first. He is our God with skin on. He may not be sitting next to you in the flesh, but if you accept Him as your Savior His Holy Spirit will live within you. Trust Him and see if He doesn't prove Himself worthy time and again!

I hope you can get out on a winding path really soon and have some adventure!

---

I would love to connect with you on social media. Join our community on Facebook.

Want to go deeper in your own Bible study and begin to know Jesus better? Get your copy of Fulfilled: A Study of Jesus.