Trust

“Dad wants you to take this.” I handed my son a pill along with a glass of water.

He stretched out his hand to grab the medicine without taking his eyes off of the TV, swallowed it and gave me  the empty glass.

“Incredible!” I said to my husband. “His 9-year-old mind doesn’t even question what we’re giving him.”

“Yes,” he responded. “He trusts us enough to place his whole life in our hands, knowing without a doubt that we’ll never do anything to hurt him.”

Without realizing it, my boy’s thoughtless response reminded me of a truth that the Lord emphasizes throughout the Bible.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3: 5-6

The present world focuses on the power of self. We’re bombarded by self-help books on how to find our own happiness, how to control people, circumstances and even our future. Even though the information may be helpful, the weight and responsibility of life fall on our shoulders and our circumstances may start to dictate our mood and outlook on life.

When things don’t go as planned, we may be overtaken by guilt, worry, anxiety and fear. If we’re not careful, we look for happiness in all the wrong places and the hole of negative emotions gets deeper and deeper leading into physical and mental illness.

To trust means “to have confidence, to be secure, to feel safe, to be careless.”

Just like my son carelessly and confidently took that pill out of my hand, so God invites us to trust in Him. He doesn’t want us to be like robots without thinking though. He wants us to surrender our dreams, fears, needs and decisions to Him so that He can guide us every day and in every way, as we do life. He longs to walk alongside us, and He promises to never leave us or forsake us.

He’s waiting to exchange our worry for His Peace, our sadness for His Joy, our strife for His Provision and much more.

The Great Exchange. That’s what the Cross is all about.

Give it a try- Jesus is only one prayer away.