Trust as a Process

Remember when you tried to ride your bike hands - free as a kid?
Practicing for days, you would teeter totter, wobble and wiggle until, one day, it all came together. At last, you had mastered the art of coasting without holding on, a feat almost every child dreams of accomplishing. The magic of this moment is really not a mystery at all, as we learn when we are older . The fact that the bicycle stays upright while the rider lets go of the handlebars is because it is stabilized by invisible inertial forces (a principle of Physics). Of course, as a kid, you might not have realized this was the reason this 'trick' worked. In a child's mind, you ride fast enough, and voila! No hands!

This morning, as I rode my bike home from taking a midterm, I jumped the curb to ride through the woods on the way to my neighborhood (I try to do something thrilling like this daily, and every time that I don't fall off my bike in the process, I cheer aloud ^_^). As I entered my neighborhood and rode down the home stretch, the idea popped into my head to try to ride "hands - free". I had attempted this trick when I was younger, but had never mastered it. Needless to say, the adrenaline began to flow as I was able to stabilize myself for several seconds. I tried again, successfully balancing for several more seconds. My goal is to continue to attempt this, increasing the time interval each time, until I can balance for a few minutes at a time.

As this was taking place, the existence of a parallel principle clicked into view in my mind's eye. I realized that the reason I had not been able to accomplish this feat as a child was due to lack of trust. I was fearful of losing control, of veering off the road and crashing. Surely, there must have been some special formula that allowed all the other kids to pull this off. In the moment I began to fear failure and its consequences, what I wanted most was to be safe and secure. That is everyone's desire, I think. Even when, no longer children, we are grown and have adult responsibilities, there is an innate human desire for stability. While this desire is not bad, attempting to gain stability in your life without relying fully on God may cause us to attempt to 'steer' when we really should allow Him to lead.

What does it mean to truly trust? Do we blindly take a 'leap of faith' and trust God?
I believe this is a widely held misconception in Christian circles. Did Jesus tell His disciples to blindly trust in Him? In some ways, yes - there were mysteries they did not fully comprehend. But in another sense, I believe the trust He called them to have had been previously earned. They saw Him living out what He preached; day in and day out, choosing to walk the path pre - destined by His Father. Jesus proved Himself through His actions by healing the sick, the blind, the lame, raising the dead, healing broken hearts, rebuking the ungodly hypocrites, and compelling sinners to come to Him.

Yes, the Bible says to trust in the Lord. Trust is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, yet when examined in the Old Testament, we see the Israelites as a great example of trust that has been built. The trust God asked of the Israelites in the Old Testament was not in any way unwarranted. They witnessed firsthand the miracles He did on their behalf in order to free them from the clutches of the stubborn, hard - hearted Egyptian Pharoah. God continued to prove Himself to them by miraculously parting the Red Sea for them to escape re - capture, and then letting the Red Sea go back to it's normal state, washing away the Egyptian Army in the process. There were countless miracles after all of these, almost too numerous to name here. The question that I feel this leads us to ask is: would you trust a God who saved you from certain death at the hand of an evil, murderous Pharoah? I know that I sure would.

While my path has not necessarily been as dramatic as the Israelites or the Disciples', God has proven Himself to me in my own life circumstances. First of all, God saved me from being eternally separated from His presence by sin when Jesus died on the cross for me, and offered me the gift of eternal life. After that, He filled me with His presence and the assurance that I am never alone, because He is with me. A key snapshot of my life is at the age of 16 when I had a revelation of the power of Salvation become a solid reality in my heart. The power of the gospel changed my life, and since that day I have had an incredible assurance in my heart that I would never be separated from God's love.

Why do I trust God to have control of my life? 
Because He has proven Himself to me. Every time I have experienced heartache in my life, God has provided the resources to pull me through. Those key provisions have included relationships with strong mentors, music, books, family, encouragement from my church body, personal revelation, even giving me things (for example, finding a sweet deal on something that I needed, and it totally made my day!). God knows us - the very innermost parts, in such a way that we can hardly fathom. When I have faltered, He has been there to take my hand and walk me through. I cannot say that I have all of the answers, but I know that He does. When I am most uncertain is the time when I cannot hesitate to cry out for wisdom and faith to believe. God is my rock, my fortress, the One in whom I trust. He has never failed me; his lovingkindness is without end. Trust Him to take the lead of your life, and it will be the greatest decision of your life. I can't say that it will be without hardships or trials, but with God guiding your path, it will most certainly be a grand adventure.