Wed Word: Trust

Remember when we were talking about faith and we discussed the issue of trust? Remember what Hebrews said?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Another word for assurance is trust. Faith and trust go hand in hand. Quite possibly the biggest reason we strive for independence and go off course is that we fail to trust wholeheartedly the way we should. Quite possibly the reason we rebel against full submission is that we simply don't allow ourselves to trust with our complete selves the way we should. And when I say "quite possibly" I mean absolutely.
Now, I want to paint a picture everyone can understand, so go with me here. Let's say you sign up for a nice scuba diving trip. You get so excited about all the coral fish you are going to see and you are already picturing how jealous your friends are going to be about all the stories you will tell. You get to the spot and what you see horrifies you. All you see are SHARKS. Everywhere! The dive instructor assures you that it's okay, they've already been fed. You can hardly speak out a protest you are so afraid. Again the instructor explains that sharks only attack when they are hungry and the crew made sure the sharks had eaten so they aren't hungry. You are thinking this is the dumbest idea you have ever heard. You've seen shark week every year!!! No matter how much they try to assure you, no matter how many times they tell you they have done this for generations and no one has ever been eaten by a shark you still refuse. Why? What is it that keeps you out of the shark infested water? What is it that drives that fear?
This is how it is when we attempt to trust God in areas we don't understand. He's the dive instructor, but because we don't understand or because our fear thinks it knows better, we can't and we won't follow Him where He leads. We become paralyzed on the boat. Peter made it out on the waves at least, we can't even get there. Know the feeling? The muck pulls at every inch of our skin demanding our attention to this issue and that issue and we must put out that fire and this fire or the whole world might burn down!!!! Or will it? Who's really running this show anyway? A million times I have to ask myself this question? Will the world stop turning if I stop running so fast? Did God put me on this earth to run the planet or to carry out His mission because, honestly, sometimes I forget? It all comes down to one question, do I trust HIM to run the universe while I take my place at His feet and do solely what He has called me to do? Can I let go of my laundry list of "ultra important things" so that I can grab on to His hand and take up my cross? Do I trust Him enough to jump into what I don't understand based only on Him?
Letting go of what I can control to take hold of only what He controls takes every ounce of trust that we have. If you doubt that's why you are stuck, try it for a week. Try it for a day. Let go of all the things you try so hard to control. Let it go and do NOTHING but trust God. I can already hear your excuses now and that's exactly what I'm talking about. Today's word is trust because faith is nothing without trust and we aren't going anywhere without it. Learn to trust Him with everything and pretty soon you'll worry about nothing. Yeah, that's really how that works :)