I was panting by the time I arrived at my destination. I could see the plane sitting there on the runway. What I didn’t see was anyone at the desk. I glanced around frantically until someone came and asked what I needed. I pointed to the plane and told them that I was supposed to be on it! She turned to look at the plane and then immediately got on the phone. Minutes later she looked up and said, “I’m sorry, you’re too late. You will have to reschedule.”
My mind was suddenly flooded with questions. Would I make it to Florida in time for my speaking engagement? What about the man and his wife who were going to pick me up at the airport and drive me to the conference, how would this effect them? I was also supposed to make contact in Florida with an eighty five year old couple at the baggage claim when I got there, what would happen to them? It was then I heard, “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God. But what is revealed belongs to us and our children” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
The hidden things were all the things that I had no control over. But to whom did these things belong? They belonged to the Lord God. But in that moment of panic I had to stop and ask myself, did I really believe that God was the Lord of my circumstances and the altered circumstances I’d created in the lives of others because of my mistakes?
I thought again about the statement that the hidden things belong to the Lord God and realized that it was the “hidden things” that caused me anxiety--all the tomorrows of my life, the what if’s, the what next. I was reminded of a poem I’d learned as a teenager. “Child of my love, fear not the unknown morrow, dread not the new demands life makes on thee. Thy ignorance doth hold no cause for sorrow. Because what thou knoweth not is known to Me.”
I had time at the airport that day to also think about the second part of Deuteronomy 29:29. What was revealed? In the 29th chapter of Deuteronomy God points out that for the forty years in the wilderness neither their clothes nor their shoes had worn out. I wondered if they noticed? It reminded me of the sermon on the mountain when Jesus encouraged His followers not be afraid of tomorrow but instead consider how God cared for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. As I sat waiting for my rescheduled flight I chose to relinquish the things I had no control over and instead turn my attention to the many blessings God had given me. As I did my breathing slowed and I felt at peace. My plans for that day were altered, but I don’t think I altered God’s plan. I think He wanted to teach me to sink a little bit deeper into what it means to trust Him
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Monday, May 14, 2018
Learning to Trust Part 1
“I will seek You in morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days”
I sat on the porch in the cool of the morning with Rich Mullin’s song playing in my mind. The words so fully expressed my heart’s desire to seek God in the morning so that I could learn to walk in His ways. That sense of deep security knowing I could have a bold confidence that the God I was seeking would lead me step by step throughout my day.
I opened my devotional and read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Yes, I thought, this is how I want to live. However, what I learned that day while sitting on my front porch and watching the sunrise was that trusting God was a whole lot more than simply reading a Bible verse. Trusting God takes place when you’re put in situations where you are not in control. It is discomfort rather than comfort that teaches me the deep security and bold confidence that God is in control.
Later that same day my husband took me to the Atlanta airport. I was going to be speaking in Florida that evening. I am not a seasoned traveler, and the Atlanta airport scares me to death. All the way there I kept telling my husband how much I appreciated him taking his morning to drive me to the airport and figuring out what time I needed to get there. However, just as I was approaching the door to get out of the car, I realized that we had gotten the time confused. I was walking into the airport at the same time my plane had begun boarding!!
My mouth was filled with the metallic taste of panic. The doors opened to a huge room full of people hurrying in all directions; loud, garbled voices on the intercom and signs pointing in everywhere. I stood there overwhelmed and scared, totally uncertain of what I was supposed to do. That is when I heard again the voice I had heard in the morning. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
My prayer in response was simply, “God! I don’t know how to trust You!” Then I heard Him say, “Trust is something that you learn. You don’t learn how to trust me from places of comfort when you are in control. You learn to trust me when I lead you into circumstances where you are not in control. Don’t be afraid what is hidden from you because it is not hidden from Me. I will teach you to trust Me. I will lead you step by step.”
The beginning...
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days”
I sat on the porch in the cool of the morning with Rich Mullin’s song playing in my mind. The words so fully expressed my heart’s desire to seek God in the morning so that I could learn to walk in His ways. That sense of deep security knowing I could have a bold confidence that the God I was seeking would lead me step by step throughout my day.
I opened my devotional and read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Yes, I thought, this is how I want to live. However, what I learned that day while sitting on my front porch and watching the sunrise was that trusting God was a whole lot more than simply reading a Bible verse. Trusting God takes place when you’re put in situations where you are not in control. It is discomfort rather than comfort that teaches me the deep security and bold confidence that God is in control.
Later that same day my husband took me to the Atlanta airport. I was going to be speaking in Florida that evening. I am not a seasoned traveler, and the Atlanta airport scares me to death. All the way there I kept telling my husband how much I appreciated him taking his morning to drive me to the airport and figuring out what time I needed to get there. However, just as I was approaching the door to get out of the car, I realized that we had gotten the time confused. I was walking into the airport at the same time my plane had begun boarding!!
My mouth was filled with the metallic taste of panic. The doors opened to a huge room full of people hurrying in all directions; loud, garbled voices on the intercom and signs pointing in everywhere. I stood there overwhelmed and scared, totally uncertain of what I was supposed to do. That is when I heard again the voice I had heard in the morning. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
My prayer in response was simply, “God! I don’t know how to trust You!” Then I heard Him say, “Trust is something that you learn. You don’t learn how to trust me from places of comfort when you are in control. You learn to trust me when I lead you into circumstances where you are not in control. Don’t be afraid what is hidden from you because it is not hidden from Me. I will teach you to trust Me. I will lead you step by step.”
The beginning...
Friday, May 11, 2018
The Night the Canary Sang
There was a time when coal miners would take a canary into the mines with them. They would listen for the song of the little bird as they worked. As long as the canary could sing it reassured them that the air was safe to breathe. I recently saw a similar situation, how the hearing of a song showed the health of its listeners.
The group held its breath as the woman with a childlike mind rose and walked to the stage. She stood there holding the mic expectantly. She was dressed in a golden gown. On her feet she wore tennis shoes and anklet socks. She had a childlike expression on her face. It often seemed that she lived in a world set apart from those around her, but tonight she wanted to share with us the song in her heart.
But something was wrong; the disk that held the music to accompany her song would not play. So she stood before us vulnerable and waiting. She waited, we waited, and all the while there she stood in her golden dress, anklets and tennis shoes with an expression of childlike faith. We were all knit together in a moment of discomfort and uncertainty.
Then it happened. A kind man in his eighties stood and began to approach the stage. Slowly he climbed the steps to where she stood. He took a chair and placed it beside her. Then, taking her by the hand, he gently invited her to rest.
Tears were streaming down my face as the would-be audience began singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” Then one love song followed another and were sung as a gift to the woman seated on the stage. Finally, she stood and in a beautiful soprano voice she sang, a capella, “We Shall Behold Him.” Earlier in the day this group had been questioning its viability. I believe that the health of this organization was shown by the way they responded to one of their most vulnerable members. That was the night I felt like I heard a canary sing.
The group held its breath as the woman with a childlike mind rose and walked to the stage. She stood there holding the mic expectantly. She was dressed in a golden gown. On her feet she wore tennis shoes and anklet socks. She had a childlike expression on her face. It often seemed that she lived in a world set apart from those around her, but tonight she wanted to share with us the song in her heart.
But something was wrong; the disk that held the music to accompany her song would not play. So she stood before us vulnerable and waiting. She waited, we waited, and all the while there she stood in her golden dress, anklets and tennis shoes with an expression of childlike faith. We were all knit together in a moment of discomfort and uncertainty.
Then it happened. A kind man in his eighties stood and began to approach the stage. Slowly he climbed the steps to where she stood. He took a chair and placed it beside her. Then, taking her by the hand, he gently invited her to rest.
Tears were streaming down my face as the would-be audience began singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” Then one love song followed another and were sung as a gift to the woman seated on the stage. Finally, she stood and in a beautiful soprano voice she sang, a capella, “We Shall Behold Him.” Earlier in the day this group had been questioning its viability. I believe that the health of this organization was shown by the way they responded to one of their most vulnerable members. That was the night I felt like I heard a canary sing.
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