When Trusting is All You Can Do

We say we trust God. And we do. We trust him that the paycheck will arrive next week. We trust Him that even if it doesn’t He will take care of us.  We trust Him with our kids’ bazillion issues. We know that somehow God will come through.

It may seem easy to trust God with those things because in our minds we can see the path to a solution if it doesn’t go exactly the way we are trusting it will. We can visualize a way that God will provide when the paycheck doesn’t arrive.  We can believe the details will all work out for all those day to day things where we tell ourselves that we can trust God.

But then something happens that jerks you off your feet and you are desperately grasping for something tangible to hold on to but there is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Last week my family was collectively jerked off our feet and in some ways it still feels like we are flying through the air. But the fact is, we have landed solidly in the very hand of God and have decided to take up residence right there.  We aren’t going anywhere.

After a long week of gradually deteriorating health, my husband was taken to the hospital on Friday, admitted to ICU and began undergoing a multitude of tests looking for internal bleeding. They found no bleeding but did find that he has cirrhosis.  His liver is failing and nobody knew it.

With words like fatal and transplant  dropped into conversations by doctors, we began to get discouraged. As we sat in the ER that first day and heard those words for the first time, Randy and I just looked at each other in shock. We had no idea what to do with this information.  We felt ourselves flying through the air as the rug was definitely jerked from beneath us.

Now it’s been 3 days and we have made a decision.  We are no longer flying. We know that we can do nothing to change our circumstances. We know that there is only One who is able to help us. Yes, He can choose to use medical professionals. Or He can choose to do a miracle, or not.  But the fact is, He will do the choosing, not us.  The only thing we can do is trust. Simply trust.

Yesterday’s sermon was on Moses being called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he complained to God that he didn’t have what it would take to get through that challenge, God told him that Aaron was already on the way to help him. God had begun to send a solution even before Moses needed one.

Even though this difficult news for our family has caught us off guard, it was no surprise to God. He isn’t wringing His hands saying, “what are we going to do now.”  He knew this day would come when Randy was formed in his mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. (NASB)

And He already has a plan to help us walk through this.  So we will stay firmly planted, in the palm of His hand and let Him carry us. Because trusting Him is all we can do.

Is there something in your life that you need to trust God with?  Throw yourself into the palm of His hand. It’s big enough for all of us. It’s a place of safety and comfort.  Do it today. Just do it.

Psalm 34:4-7

I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This [c]poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.