WEEK TWO: TRUST

“Do you trust me with your most prized possession?” Those words still ring loudly in my spirit every time I find myself remembering that moment in time. I had been wrestling with God about a situation I found myself in (and quite frankly, I was worn out over the ordeal). After I had told God what I thought about the whole thing, he spoke those words to me—not audibly, but so deep down in my spirit that I couldn’t deny it—and it brought me to a decision point. Did I trust God or not?

Trust is defined as firm belief in the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. If that doesn’t sound like the Christian’s view of God, then nothing does. However, every one of us have had a moment like mine at some point in our faith journey. We find ourselves in a challenging situation or we sense that God is asking something of us that is stretching us, and suddenly we begin questioning God. Did he really ask that of me? Is he really expecting me to do that? Am I really hearing from God (and it’s not just the pizza I ate before bed last night)? Can I trust God?

Abraham found himself in just such a situation. God had asked him to take his son Isaac and to sacrifice him to God. But this was no ordinary son. God had promised Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation, and Isaac was the miracle son of promise through whom God would fulfill his promise to Abraham. And now, God was asking Abraham to kill him. So Abraham did the unthinkable. Instead of arguing or trying to work out a compromise, he took Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him. At some point, Isaac realized that everything they needed to make a sacrifice was present… except the sacrifice. He questioned his father about this, and Abraham’s response was simply, “God will provide.” On that mountain, Abraham built an altar, bound his son, placed him on it, and prepared to offer him as a sacrifice. Just as Abraham was about to plunge the knife into his son, God stopped him and provided a ram as the replacement sacrifice. What had initially looked like an altar of sacrifice and loss became an altar of trust in Abraham’s life.

So, what has God asked of you? He probably won’t ask you to sacrifice a child to him, but he may ask you to sacrifice a dream you’ve had. He may not ask you to pick up everything and move to a foreign land, but he may ask you to walk across the street to talk to that neighbor you have had a problem with.

So the question we need to ask ourselves is this: “Do I trust God?” That day on my front porch, I had a decision to make. I could either trust God and put the situation in his hand, or I could choose not to trust him. I’m not sure if the situation would have turned out any differently than it did, but this is what I do know: giving it over to God and trusting him to take care of it lifted the burden of worry and gave me a peace in the situation beyond my own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” You can trust God! Put your trust in him today and experience what that can do for you.