A Trust Like Abraham

Dear Friends,

Have you ever had a time in your life in which everywhere you turned, you seemed to hear the same message?  I am currently in the thick of one of those divine experiences…I am hearing “trust.”  It all started this summer when sickness attacked one of my grandkids.  About the same time, two of my grandkids were diagnosed with learning disabilities.  My heart warred with God!  How could he let this happen to these sweet kids?

In the mist of my battle with God, I visited my sister in North Carolina, a relatively recent widow.  As we hung out together over several days, truth poured out of her heart.  “My husband is gone so all I can do is lean into Jesus.”  “No, I don’t worry a lot.  I know that Jesus will work it out.”  As I pondered her words on the plane ride home I asked myself, do I lean into Jesus or are there people and earthly things into which I lean?  Why do I worry so much about my family and then find myself arguing with God?  Do I trust that Jesus will work things out for the good?  As I poured over these questions, I realized that the common theme was trust.  The question begs: Do I really trust Jesus with my family?

Upon returning home, I was hit between the eyes again with trust.  In the midst of studying Romans 4 with my Life Group, Abraham was being used as an illustration of justification by faith and not by works.  God promised him that he would be a father and his wife would conceive.  But to his human perspective, he was an old man and Sarah was post-menopausal.  Now, how is that going to work?  The promise is against all odds, all science, and all reason!  Sarah was past child bearing years and had been for several decades.  In addition to the impossibilities, Abraham was about 100 years old.  With all odds against them, it seemed quite impossible.  However, God allowed Sarah to conceive and have a child.  What hit me between the eyes was that Abraham and Sarah TRUSTED God to do what he said he would.  And even though it made no sense to have a child at that age, they trusted God to work it out according to his covenant promise.  It seems to me that at that time in their lives, they were really leaning into God.  Would I have done that?  I must honestly say, I really don’t know.  Will I trust Jesus with my family?  I want to…

So what does this have to do with spending time in God’s word for 20 minutes a day?  When God continually speaks a word like “trust” to me, it seems he wants me to listen because he has a lesson to teach me.  He speaks through his people (my sister), his Word (Romans), and the Holy Spirit (pondering and praying) and he desires me to listen.  If I am not daily in his Word and praying, I will regretfully miss what he has to teach me.

Do I fully trust God with my family? Probably not fully, but I am getting encouragement and instruction from his Word and I believe that my trust is developing.  What key theme is God showing you as you consistently spend time in his Word and in prayer?

Trusting as I go,

Bev