06152019 Do You Trust Me?

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings, my sisters. No matter what this week held for you, I trust that God supported you through it. He does that, you know, for those who lean on Him. I want to approach this week's truth by sharing three stories.

First, many years ago, I was concerned about pressure and possible resulting damage to my teeth, so I decided as an adult to get braces. My orthodontist performed all kinds of torture. He had three teeth pulled. He jammed spacers between my teeth. He forced metal bands around my molars. He installed brackets and wires that caused pain and made my teeth sensitive even to being touched. He made me wear rubber bands that restricted my mouth movements and caused more pain. He repeatedly stuck trays of nasty goop inside my mouth to take impressions. And I allowed him to do all those things - for two or three years.

Second, almost thirteen years ago I began a long journey with various doctors, first for Lyme disease and then for the resulting effects. I filled out pages and pages of paperwork. I had so much lab work done that I nearly passed out from giving blood (more than once). I traveled hours each way back and forth to doctors. I followed very restrictive diets. I let them decide which medications I should take, when I should change medications, and when I should take a break. Every change made me feel lousy for weeks or days, and the initial treatment made me feel worse for several months than I had ever felt in my life. I have allowed my newest doctor to uncover underlying problems and introduce new treatments.

Third, since September I've had a realtor helping me to look for a house. I was prompted to fill out lengthy funding applications, have meetings with such people, and jump through many administrative hoops. I have had many phone discussions and multiple showings. I have listened to my realtor's guidance as we've considered houses and have followed his advice about the quality of those homes. I've heard, "I can't let you buy this house" and similar statements as various houses were rejected. Over and over I've heard the words, "We'll keep looking." I was ready to make an offer on one house until my realtor examined it carefully and told me it would be constant problems. As he recommended that I let it go, he asked, "Do you trust me?"

That is the question I want to consider. "Do you trust me?" I chose to follow each of these professionals, and I deliberately placed myself under their care. And every one of them has tortured me beyond belief! They have caused pain. They have introduced lengthy seasons of struggle. They have brought heart-breaking disappointments. They have sometimes led me in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go in order to reach the destination. For a time they made things worse than what they were before. Their guidance has resulted in delays. They have cost me a lot of money.

I have trusted them and continued to follow their guidance anyway. Why? Because each one was an expert. Each one had lengthy experience in helping other people with the same issues. They knew what the goals were and they knew how to reach those goals. I trusted them because I expected that in the end they would get me to where I wanted to go.

So why is it sometimes so hard to trust God? He is the greatest expert ever on everything. No one can come close to His lengthy experience. He has perfect wisdom, and He has helped people for millennia. He knows what the goals are, and He knows how to reach them. And, while some of those professionals had a measure of care for me, the bottom line is that they were all doing a job that they would get paid for. God does all that He does because He loves me deeply.

So why is it sometimes hard to trust Him? I think of two reasons. First, we don't always know what goals God is working toward. We have our ideas of what we want. We may have an idea of what we think He will do or should do, but our priorities are much more temporal than God's. It can be hard to trust when His plan doesn't seem to work toward our goal.

Second, God doesn't explain His processes. Those other professionals will tell us the reason for the painful treatment or the rationale behind the seeming reversal. They will give explanations that help us accept the difficulties. It can be hard to trust when we don't understand why God incorporates something difficult into His plan and when we can't see the path of progress that He sees.

In answer to these, I simply say that we can know that God is always working toward His best plan for us. It will be good because He has determined it so. Additionally, God's ways are not our ways. He will do things we don't understand, but that doesn't mean they won't work.

Yes, God's plan includes pain, sorrow, disappointment, delay, reversals, confusion, fear, expenses, and many other "negatives" that we would rather not experience. Lately as I have talked with God about the difficulty of those negatives, I have heard this question: "Do you trust Me?" That question quiets my soul, as it ought to. I have a God of infinite wisdom, power, and love who is working on my behalf. I have chosen to follow Him and place myself under His guidance. When the process doesn't go like I want it to go, I should be able to trust Him far more than I have trusted an orthodontist, doctor, or realtor. I may understand less of the process with God than I did with those other people, but He is far more trust-worthy than any of them. I may hurt through the process, but with tears running down my face and with my heart breaking and with my spirit crushed, I can still trust God. Yes, I can. And so can you.

"How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings" (Psalm 36:7). "But without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6).

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com