You are a tree planted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, never dropping a leaf.
God charts the road you take.
Psalm 1:3,6 The Message
Last week, the women of Crosspoint gathered for the third meeting of The Well. It was a night of worship and praise. It was also a time of introspection. The speaker for the evening, Melanie Phillips, shared her personal testimony of times of sadness, fear, and despair. But she also told of the triumph which comes with the realization that God has not abandoned us but is asking for our trust in the plan He has provided for our lives. Her advice was twofold - trust the Father and cultivate His plan for our lives.
It is strange that we fear trusting the Almighty. It is as if we prefer a life of questions and disappointments. But trust is possibly the most difficult road in life to follow. It requires us to believe the unbelievable - that the God of creation desires a relationship with us. No, even more than that. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of Your hands and you put everything under his feet. Psalms 8:3-6
The book of Psalms provides encouragement and direction in the quest to cultivate trust. Its most familiar writer was not a tiller of the soil. David was a shepherd, a giant killer, a soldier and a king. But he knew the importance of trust. His songs often rang with cries of pain and confusion. But his answer was always the same: You, God, shield me on all sides; You ground my feet, You lift my head high…Real help comes from God. Psalms 3:1,3
And so we plant the seed of faith, believing that God has a plan for us, that He is interested in our plight, that He is with us on our journey. But planting is only the beginning. There must be pruning. And like the Psalmist, we sometimes fall into times of despair. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, so far from the words of my groaning? Psalms 22:1
“Trust Psalms” seem to resonate more frequently from the mouth of David than from any other writer in the Psalms. David, who was “a man after God’s own heart,” chosen by God to slay Goliath and to lead His people Israel, had fear issues. And yet, he writes, When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose name I praise, in God I trust. Psalms 56:3-4
A reluctance to trust does not always originate from fear. Perhaps more often it results from disillusionment, from the belief that God is not listening. In this age of immediate response, of instant feedback, it is sometimes difficult to wait on God’s own time. The Israelites waited over four hundred years to be released from Egyptian captivity. Generations passed as God’s people waited for the Messiah. But contemporary thought demands immediate gratification…even in our prayers to God. Yet we forget that the God to Whom we pray today is the God of tomorrow and next week and next year…He sees what is best and guides us. Isaiah wrote, “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Trusting God is a daily commitment. The choice to trust belongs to each individual and should be bathed in prayer. Believe that God’s promises are true. His presence is our strength and we are His.
My choice is You, O God, first and only.
And now, I find I am Your choice.
Psalms 16:5-11 The Message