Do You “Trust” or just “Believe”.

“You Gotta Believe”.  That was the phrase that my high school baseball team had plastered everywhere.  It was on our bags, painted on the locker room wall and on the letter head used by the head coach.  Believing is very important but it wasn’t enough to win a state championship (even though we had the highest quality of talent our high school had ever seen).  We need more than belief, we needed “trust”. Many people believe but few move into the arena of trusting.  Trusting is placing your confidence in someone or something else.  Trust is the action point of belief.

Not long ago, I believed in God and his provision, direction, and wisdom.  I believed, as long as things went well for me I was in the center of His will for my life.  Then something happened.  Things seemed to start to turn south for me.  My visual picture of the future started to become scarred and torn.  Things were not turning out like I had hoped or planned.  Was belief enough?  Or was there something I was missing?  That is when my belief collidated with the reality of trust.

I believed God had great things planned for me but I had never placed my trust in him to do those things for me.  Because of my circumstances, I needed more than a belief.  I needed to learn how to trust God.  I did everything I could in my own power to no avail.  I was forced to trust God.  Trust Him for my provisions, trust Him for my security, trust Him for peace, trust Him for significance and trust Him with my future.  The journey has not been easy, but is one that has taught me a valuable lesson.  He has met my needs, He has given my security, He has taught me to trust Him.  While I wish I had a reserve tank filled with things that I can dip into if times get tough, I have learned to trust God every single day.

My friend Barbara King put it this way, “I believe there is a bridge across the royal gorge, I can see it. but do I trust that it is good enough for me to cross over?  Even the devil believes and trembles over the name of Jesus, But I trust him with my everything. Believing is the not same as trusting.”  I have believed.  But now, my belief is filled with trust.  Do you see the bridge God has planned for you and do you trust Him enough to start walking?

Permission to Speak Honestly

Why is it so hard for people to share their struggles?  Even with our closest of friends we share 90% of our life but we hold back that last 10%.  Why?  Is the risk too large?  And, what makes it a risk?  What are we risking anyway?

The word “risk” means “exposure to the chance of injury or loss”.  If we share that last 10% of our lives with people we trust we do run the risk of being rejected.  There it is!!!!  Rejection, the single largest fear of the human race.  Ever since Adam and Eve hid from God we have been following that pattern.  Hiding.  Hiding our struggles because of the fear of rejection.

Several months ago, I witnessed what happens when you are willing to share that last 10%.  A pastor friend of mine did something many of us say that it will never happen to me.  He committed adultery.  He lost everything.  He had hidden that last 10% for so long and it had caught up to him.  He did what he vowed he would never do and everything collapsed like a house of playing cards.  For the next 3 years he and his wife went through the painful but healing process of working through that last 10%.  Today, he has a great marriage.  Even though he did a very bad thing, today he shares his story openly.  He shares how Gods grace and his wife’s forgiveness has not only restored his relationship with his wife and God but has launched it to levels he never thought possible.

As I listened to my friend and his wife share their story to a class full of young married, I witnessed something amazing.  Their authenticity gave others the permission to speak honestly.  The next several months his schedule booked up with people wanting to talk.  Couple after couple filed into his office, sharing their stories, sharing that last 10%.

God brings healing, however people need to see grace and authenticity lived out with skin on.  It begins with me being honest.  My honesty gives people permission to speak honestly and that is when healing begins.

Relating to those you can’t relate to…

Through the magic of social networking, I connected with a young lady from my youth group from the past.  Many years have passed and her life has changed.  She has 2 kids and her youngest (5 yrs old) has brain cancer and it is moving quickly throughout his body.  That is bad enough, but as we learn more about the situation, our friend, has had some drug problems and consequently her children are currently in foster care.  She is restricted to 4 hours a day with her child in the hospital, and that is only if she is lucky enough to find a ride to the hospital.

As I thought about her struggles,  I found myself trying to place myself in her shoes.  I have never had a drug problem, I have never had my kids taken away and I have never had a child experience a life threatening illness.  I had concluded that I could not relate to her experiences, OR COULD I?

Even though I have not experienced what she is experiencing, we have a lot more in common than I realized.  Even though my situation is different, it seems we are both asking the same questions.  Here are a few of the common questions:

• God, Why?
• God, Why me?
• Do you really care?
• Did I do something to deserve this?
• What are you trying to teach me?
• Why can’t you take care of this quickly?
• What do I need to do?

Pain comes in a lot of different forms.  Pain produces questions.  It is something we all experience.  It is something we all can relate to.  You don’t have to be a drug addict to relate.  You just have to know that they are experiencing some pain in their life.  I am sure you can relate to that.