Do You Trust God?

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”

Our nation's motto is "In God We Trust" and to this day, those words are inscribed on our paper money and coins. I hope we never lose that reminder of the only truth about trust, and that is to trust God and God alone.

One of my favorite stories is about the man who was hiking alone along the paths that overlook the beautiful coastline below Big Sur, California. Somehow, while admiring creation in its splendor, he managed to lose his footing and fall, but somehow, much to his surprise, ended up hanging from a bush more than a hundred feet from the top and the bottom of the cliff. Imagine suspended too far to climb back up and too far to drop. Regaining his wits, he began to call out for help. He yelled at the top of his lungs for someone, anyone to help him. No one was on the path at the time or could hear his pleas for assistance, so he turned to the only one he trusted at times like these...God. “God, please help me! I'm about to die!” Knowing he could not hold on much longer, he surrendered to whatever God's will might be thinking that he may, very well, be meeting God face to face very soon. Just as he was about to lose his grip, he heard the voice of God speak clearly to him as never before. “I'm here, right below you on a safe ledge just a few feet below. Just let go and trust me. I'll catch you if you fall any farther.” The man gathered his remaining strength, reestablished his grip and tried with futility to see below him. Where he was hanging in the bush and the thickness of the shrubs, he had no view at all of anything but the rocks below and the sheer cliff wall above. He somehow mustered more strength and asked honestly, "Is there anyone else up there?"

Sometimes we want to trust God and even use the language of trust, but when push comes to shove, we often trust on our terms without exercising any faith. Scripture is replete with teaching about trust and always addresses trust in God with the responsibility firmly resting on the believer to "put" his/her trust in God. The "proof is in the pudding" as they say, but sometimes, I guess, the "pudding" gets a little sticky. We must choose to trust, and that often does not come easily. Oh, how many times I have struggled and fought and complicated my life because I was unwilling to really put my life or situation in the Lord's hands. Sure, I trust Him, but how about some audio or visual aids or a sign or something? I tend to hang on too long to what I think I know and too tight to my perspective. I try to control God helping me or answering me by asking for details. I should just surrender, and then I wouldn't have to look back and wonder why, once again, I made life so hard. He always shows himself to be merciful and full of grace, able to handle all of my troubles. Eventually I thank Him realizing that I didn't need to go through the anguish, if I only would have "completely" trusted Him from the beginning.

If you were that man who fell, what would you have done? Choose an answer from the list or give one of your own.

I'd just let go!
I'd wait for help!
I'd figure out another way!
I'd give up!
I'd probably still be hanging there!

Do you really trust God? Remember, every time you see a penny, or when someone says, ‘a penny for your thoughts’. "In God We Trust."

Trusting Him,
Pastor Fred

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