Can I Trust God?

WE HAD FINALLY ARRIVED! Bob and I had both sensed God calling us to be missionaries in the Philippines, and after months of preparation, we moved across the world with our four young children to our new country. At last we were in the place God had called us to go.

After a few weeks in Manila, we moved to the island of Mindanao. A few days later, once we were settled in the home of our kind Filipino friends, Bob had to leave us to renew our visas on another island. Trusting God for our family’s needs had become part of life, but I still wasn’t prepared for the parade of critters that joined us in our temporary home. The cold bucket baths took getting used to, and so did the food. We were excited about fish patties until my daughter pointed out that the black dots resembling pepper were actually the eyes of tiny whole fish.

I was tempted to doubt God like the Israelites did when they finally saw the land He had promised them. Convinced that they would be conquered by the people who lived there, the Israelites cried, “Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us” (Deuteronomy 1:27). Our enemy deceives us into believing that challenging circumstances mean God hates us. It’s just the opposite! God loves us, and He is with us every step of the way through our trials, even if we step over a strange critter or two.

Amid odd noises, smells, and sights during those weeks when we waited for Bob to return, I watched movies on the screen of my mind—reruns of God’s countless demonstrations of faithfulness to our family through the years. The Israelites had a backlog of movies too. In one of them, God parted the Red Sea so they could cross safely while their enemies drowned. Surely that movie won the Academy Award! Yet the people still doubted God when He didn’t include their favorite appetizer on the menu.

I knew that if I expressed doubt and disappointment in God’s plan to my impressionable children and our gracious hosts, my response would be interpreted as a lack of faith: “She did not trust in the LORD, she did not draw near to her God” (Zephaniah 3:2). I sensed that this moment of decision was big. So much was at stake. One day I cried out for grace and made the choice to trust God by faith, not because of what I could see or how I felt. I couldn’t see the plan, and I sure felt out of place, but I had instant peace. Our circumstances hadn’t changed, but that evening, for the first time since we’d arrived, I lay down and slept peacefully, with only a minor concern about critters. I sang Psalm 4:8, which I had put to a tune a few weeks earlier, after the robbery episode: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”

God had us on the straight path of His plan—one that included peace and protection despite all of its seeming twists and turns. We continued to cling to a favorite family verse: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). We can’t lean on our own understanding, because the Christian life often makes no sense to us. We stake both our present and future on a God we cannot see.

The truth is, faith isn’t a natural response to questionable circumstances. Doubt, fear, and discontent are natural. But faith in the reality of an unseen, sovereign God is what equips us to walk with Him, and our faith is what pleases God (see Hebrews 11:6). Only God’s grace can enable ordinary women like us to choose extraordinary faith.

What are you facing that you wouldn’t have to deal with if you were in charge? No matter what life looks like from your perspective, God is still in control. He’s got it, whatever “it” is: living within your means, changing jobs, major surgery, an upcoming move, or anything else you’re facing.

In Deuteronomy 1, Moses encourages the Israelites that God carries His children when they are too weary for the journey, and He goes before them to lead the way (see verses 30-31). You and I need that reminder too. We can make the choice to trust our faithful God!

REFLECTION

What circumstances in your life make you doubt God’s presence or His goodness? Think back on your life and choose some “movies” of God’s past faithfulness that you can watch over and over to remind yourself that He is good and trustworthy. Review Proverbs 3:5-6 to help you remember that God can be trusted. If you haven’t already memorized these key verses, take time to go over them this week so you can take them with you wherever you go.