Trust. It is a word that is easy to say. It is short and simple, with only one syllable. Yet, the step from saying a word to actively applying the action can be a giant leap. And for me, an obsessive-compulsive planner who analyzes every possible outcome of an unknown future, one who is always devising ways to be proactive and avoid possible calamity, taking a step of faith without a clear-cut plan of where I am going is terrifying. Yet, as a child of God, I am instructed to trust Him completely. And, all I can say is, this past month, God has really been working in my heart on this. A while back, I memorized James 1:22, which says, “But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (KJV). As I have been studying my Bible this past month, reading Biblical examples of fully trusting God, I recollected the words of this verse. Being a doer of the Word means having complete faith in God to provide, trusting Him as I step into the unknown, letting Him have full control.
The other morning, my Bible reading was 1 Kings 17. Not long after I finished the scripture about Elijah telling King Ahab the news of the coming drought and how God directed him to flee and go to the brook Cherith, my Warrior Sister (an amazing sister-in-Christ who encourages me daily) sent me a text that included a reference to Psalm 23. I would say, for some reason, but I know the reason for what followed. It was God speaking to me through His Word. I suddenly saw the words of David in Psalm 23 in direct correlation with the scripture I had just read in 1 Kings 17. The Lord instructs Elijah to go and hide by the brook Cherith, and Elijah goes (See 1 Kings 17:3, 5). In my mind, Psalm 23:1, rang loud and clear: “The Lord is my Shepherd…” (KJV). God led, and Elijah followed. He trusted God, his Shepherd. And then, God provides Elijah’s needs. He has water to drink from the brook, and God sends ravens to bring him food (See 1 Kings 17:4, 6). The remainder of Psalm 23:1 scrolled across my thoughts: “…I shall not want” (KJV). And then as I pictured Elijah by this brook, not only did God give him nourishment, He kept Elijah safe. With God as his Shepherd, he was safe. With my eyes pressed tight, I could see the green grass and the still water and the words of Psalm 23:2: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me by the still waters” (KJV).
With this picture in my mind, I cannot begin to explain the exhilaration that overcame me combined with this overwhelming inexplicable peace. So, as I repeat Psalm 23 aloud, I remind myself that I cannot just listen to myself say it. That would be only hearing. I must apply it, sincerely trusting my Shepherd with all my fears… with all my unknowns.
And then today, a powerful follow-up from God to my heart, Hebrews 11:8 leaped off a page and scratched at my soul. “By faith Abraham, …obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” (Hebrew 11:8 KJV). With complete trust in God, Abraham stepped in faith. He did not know where he was going, but he went anyway, leaving the destination and whatever might arise along the way to his Shepherd.
Today, I pray that God will help me let go of my fears and my worries. I pray that He will help me be a doer of His Word, fully trusting my shepherd to lead me. I pray that He will give me the strength to take those steps of faith when I don’t know where I am going… because I know that my Shepherd does.
