If my time on the race has taught me much, one revolving lesson has been how to trust God when it hurts. I started out this race very confident. Confident in my faith, in my talents, in my abilities, in my education, so on and so forth. Simply I was confident in myself more than I was confident in God. Now in theory I knew God was loving, faithful, forgiving, and all that. In theory. It was head knowledge but I didn’t believe it in my heart. After a few weeks on the field the discrepancies in my theory began to appear. The faulty foundation of trust that I had began to creek. Once things became tough I completly became undone in the Fathers presence. Laid bare before his eyes; my trust issues were revealed. All of the pride, insecurities, envy, comparison and other ugly stuff. All of it. There I was, naked and poor with nothing more to say but God help. In his grace the lord enrolled me in “How to Trust God 101”. Classes began and let me tell you, it was tough. One after another, God put me in situations that demanded my trust in him.
Many times I questioned God. Lord if you are an all loving father, why am I in so much pain? Why am I dealing with this now? I’m ON A MISSION TRIP! (Yep, I said it lol) You see learning to trust God is not always a pleasent experience. It’s not alwayts convenient. I believe its safe to say that most times its not. It’s painful. It strips you of yourself. It leaves you naked and in need. The things that you once relied on for comfort doesnt help. Only God’s uncounditional love and faithful care can and If you happen to be in “How to trust God 101” right now, stick in there, dont give up! There is an other side. The pain does go away. The sun does shine. Like a college discipline, once you complete the required courses, you recieve a certificate. The joy you recieve once you recieve that certificate totally outweighs the trouble it took to attain it. In a similar fashion that’s how it is with Father God.
Friends, as your father, God wants you to trust him. He wants you to trust that you are dearly loved and that he has your best in heart. He wants you to trust him with all your heart. So if you are in a circumstance that is dark and you dont know what to do; be encouraged. A much stronger trust is just over the horizon waiting eagerly for you.
Meditate on this scripture:
9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12: 9-11
p.s. An area that the lord has asked me to trust him in is to provide the funds I need to be fully funded for the race. My final deadline has passed and I still need $4,300 to finish the race. Would you consider parterning with me?
Thank you…Thank you!
His Child
Craig
