Do you have trust issues? Well, I do. When people say they’ll do one thing, and don’t follow through, I lose trust. When the weather forecast calls for sunshine and a blue sky, but I wake up and find it raining and dreary, my confidence wains. When my auto mechanic tells me it’s just a small repair, but ends up costing me enough to empty my bank account, I feel deceived, and trust is broken.
But what about trusting in the Lord? Do you struggle to trust in God’s promises? Once again, and I confess, I do. Let’s face it, it’s not always easy to place one-hundred percent of our trust in a God that we cannot see or touch. When we pray and our prayers go unanswered, a leap of faith can sometimes feel more like a foot-slog through drying concrete. Trusting in the Lord is challenging when life gives you mouldy lemons instead of fresh lemonade.
The other day quite out of the blue, a friend texted me this bible verse when he learned of my current faith-based trust issues. “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” (Isaiah 26:4 NIV)
And when I opened my Bible app, the preceding verse also hit me right between the eyes. “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV)
“Okay, Lord,” I say with my head raised to heaven, “yes, I’m not trusting you the way I should. Forgive me and help me, please!” I’ll go out on a limb and venture to say that you have also been in this trench from time to time? Please nod if that’s the case. I’ll see you! Trusting in God takes effort on our part and a massive dose of faith, especially when waiting for prayers to be answered.
Just prior to writing these words, my wife sent me an Instagram video post. In it, someone said this:
“You can never lose faith. That’s the key. You have to believe in something you can’t see. You have to believe when you don’t see any way, or how. You have to buckle down and keep believing. God is always coming. Here’s the deal. The moment you ask God for something, he boxes it up and he ships it to you. Here’s the problem with the package. He never gives you the date that it’s going to arrive. It’s going to come. He just doesn’t tell you when. If He told you when, it would destroy the relationship that’s required to have an abundant life, which is faith.”
What a powerful nugget of wisdom! And the two bible verses from Isaiah? Slam dunk words of comfort and hope, and yes, TRUST. My dear friend, I do not know what you are going through or what you are praying for. But together, let’s focus our energy on Jesus, the author and protector of our faith. Let’s trust that God has it all figured out, even when we don’t.
I say, Amen to that!
Paul Smyth
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
