|
|
     |
  |
|
In The Chapel
Trust Trust is a beautiful word. When we speak it, we do so almost in reverence, for it is sacred. We consider trust among our most valuable treasures that we hold within our private personal treasure chest. We hold it close, as though there were those who sought to steal it. It has round-the- clock security because we believe in our heart that if it is ever taken from us, then it will never return in quite the same fashion. And then, somehow we know that we will never be the same again. We are quite sticky about the rules and regulations of trust. It is a game, but a very serious one with life and death consequences. If I ever trust you, and you betray me…there is no throwing the dice again to see if you can land on a softer place. You go to jail, directly to jail, and you do not get to collect two-hundred dollars! Those are simply the rules, and the rules cannot be bent for anyone…at least not while we are the banker. But how differently things look on the other side of the table. When it was me that had made a terribly stupid mistake. Only God knew how much money I would have paid to take it all back…to turn back the hands of time…to make a few moments of time disappear. Then it was all very different. It was then that I thought the rules were too strict. I thought they were mean-spirited rules that had deadly consequences. There was no belief system anymore…just black and white…fact and fiction. Why hadn't I seen it all before? This game was unfair. It was a game that was impossible to win. It was a game that took and never gave back. The problem with the "Trust Game", is that you can forgive but you can't forget. So we say things like, "I forgive you, but I don't trust you." How painful those words are…exquisitely human, but explicably torturous. What exactly do we get out of living life this way? What great rewards are given to those who can hold onto their trust and never lose it to anyone? What prizes are given to the one who indulges in their painful memories daily so that they can remind themselves never to let it happen again? There are none. For those who choose not to let go, choose not to grow. The disease of stagnation overtakes your soul. The cancer of bitterness eats away at the very core of your being. There is no release, for you have cut away the wings. There is no song that your heart can sing, for you have taken away the melody. I love the song: "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His promise. Just to know thus sayeth the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust you. How I've proved You ore and ore. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh for grace to trust You more." The writer knows the value of trust. Not just to receive trust, but to give trust. How sweet it is to trust. How precious it is to take Him at His Word. How serene it is to rest upon His promises. How powerful it is to know that what He says, He will do. And though this has been proved to me over and over, I still long to trust You more. For in my humanness, I have placed God in the same category that I place people. If I have ever needed Him to do something right away, and He did not respond the way I thought He should have, then I begin to doubt His ability or His willingness to perform…forgetting entirely His promise to work all things for my good. He did not promise, "All things will BE good", just that "All things would work together for good". That means the up's will work together with the down's…the mountains will work with the valleys…the smiles will work with the tears…and together…all things will work toward the same end - my good. He can be trusted even though the storm winds blow, for He is the Master of the wind. He can be trusted through the black of night, for He is the Father of light. It feels so good to just let go of all my fears and just believe. It feels so peaceful to lay down all my hurts and disappointments and simply trust.
PRAYER: I have dreams of where I want my life to go and how I want it to look when I get there. Help me today to trust in Your plan for me. Help my mind to be at rest within your time frame. During the "in-between-times", somewhere between mountains, somewhere between victories and glories, soothe my doubts here in the middle. I
believe in my heart that Your ways are better than mine. And I believe
in my heart that Your timing is better than mine. Now, sweet Friend,
put my mind at rest. Thank You. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Release | Events | News | Products | Contact Info Copyright
© 2002 Vonnie Ewing Lopez, All Rights Reserved. |
|