Learning to Trust (from 31 Days of Encouragement – Miriam)

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART; DO NOT DEPEND ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.” Proverbs 3:5

For as long as I can remember, my Momma would print the above scripture in every card she gave me or in my Bible that she and Daddy gave me. This verse is her life verse. She and my Daddy have built their lives on trusting in the Lord, and they have taught this to me and my brothers.

In September, 2004, I spoke in Florence, South Carolina, for a women’s conference on the topic of “Learning to Trust.” My talk is based on the book Learning to Trust by Bill Jones and Terry Powell along with my own personal experience and what the Lord has taught me through them. Interestingly, I first wrote this talk when we began our walk of faith with the Lord into full-time ministry with a missions organization called Crossover. At that time I had several examples to use of God’s faithfulness and how we were trusting Him. That was in 2002. Now jump ahead two years to 2004, and God was again so good to give me many new examples. I say this with a hint of sarcasm.

The week before I spoke it was as if God was really tenderizing my heart to the point where I could be vulnerable when I spoke to the women at that conference. I was very emotional, even a little down, which isn’t the norm for me. The Monday night of the week I spoke, I attended open house at our children’s school. I was in our daughter, Rachel’s, English class listening to her teacher talk about American Literature. She was telling us that when the literature gets too heavy and depressing, she brings in scripture to show the students why the people were so down. She said that often when people are down and it seems like there is no hope, it is because they are having trouble trusting in God’s sufficiency. Wow!! It seemed God was sitting there pointing a finger at me. I was really struggling with trusting Him through this difficult time in our lives even though I could look back and see how He had sustained us and provided for us in so many ways. I’m so much like the Israelites who saw God do miraculous things yet continually doubted Him.

That same week I read a devotion in a booklet our church gave us that said, “Worry is a warning light that Christ has been shoved to the sidelines.” I thought, “Okay, Lord, I’m starting to get it.” Through that week and into the conference, God showed me all over again that He could be trusted. I know God used me to give His message to those women, and at the same time He reminded me of His faithfulness.

Jump ahead to the present day – 2008. God continues to give me fresh examples in my life of how I can trust Him. He has never failed me – not one time! How about you? Do you trust the Lord? Have you tested Him and found Him to be true and faithful?