Do you Trust like a Melon?

It was three o’clock in the morning when the cell phone rang. No, it shrieked.

I was so sound asleep I didn’t know if it was an ambulance or a tornado siren in my bedroom.

“Who is it?” My heart pounded and my body shook.

“Calm down,” my husband said as he picked up his phone.

One of the hardest things about having a physician husband is surviving night calls. That’s the other side of medicine that only the family gets to experience.

“Why do you always expect bad news?” he was asleep before I could respond.

It took my heart a while to calm down and my body to relax enough to go back to sleep.

I decided to turn to God to search for an answer to his question.

I found it in Psalm 112:

He will not be frightened by bad news.

He remains steady, trusting in the Lord

 His heart is set firm, he will not be afraid (CJB)

We know that we will have problems and afflictions in life; even Jesus said it. We will receive bad news at some point.

So how can we avoid being overwhelmed by fear?

The key is to TRUST.

To trust is “to rely on, to hope or expect confidently” (Merriam Dictionary) and also “to cling”, like a melon which clings to the vine. (Ancient-hebrew.org)

Just like a big melon clings confidently to a flimsy-looking, skinny vine, the Lord wants us to trust in Him, His love, faithfulness, power and strength.

This confidence is what will keep us steady and firm even when we receive bad news.

Things might look scary all around us. A bad medical report, a wayward child, the loss of a job or a loved one can shake us just like a strong wind might shake a melon hanging from a vine.

But we don’t have to be destroyed.

We can cling to the Good News, Jesus Christ. With Him, instead of dreading the future, we can remain hopeful, not because of anything that we have done or can ever do, but because of Who He is.

He is our Strength when we are weak, our Provider when we lack, our Friend when we’re lonely, our Light in our darkest hour, our Guide when we are lost, our Father when we feel abandoned, our Healer when we’re in pain.

Most of all, He is our Merciful Savior, waiting with open arms for that moment when we turn to Him. He longs to forgive our sins and shower us with His lavish love, which has no equal and no end.

The choice is ours.

I shared my discovery and newly found conviction with my husband at dinner.

“There’s only one question I have about trusting. Do I look like a big melon?”

He got up and headed to the bedroom. “I plead the Fifth!”

The more I learn to cling to Jesus, despite the many midnight calls, the more I like melons and the more I embrace looking like one.

Do you want to join me?