Should I Trust
Him Even At Wrong Ends?
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 straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
On a flight to
Chicago, the pilot announced that the takeoff had been postponed due to
mechanical failure. Later, the flight attendant announced that everyone who was
heading for Chicago was to remain on the plane. Forgetting that the intercom was still on, the
pilot was overheard in the background...he said "Whoops!" A minute later,
the pilot headed down the aisle toward the rear exit ramp, with his hat in one
hand and his briefcase in the other. One of the passengers saw the pilot and
asked him, "Where are you going?"
The pilot told him in a low voice, "Denver." The passenger
replied, "This plane’s not going to Denver. It’s going to Chicago!" The
pilot, with his face turning red, said, "I know, I’m on the wrong plane!
We all have went
in the wrong direction for a while before realizing our mistake. Knowing which
way to go in life is never easy, and neither are knowing what choices to make, or
what God’s will is in a specific situation, but God has placed a promise in the
Bible to point us in the right direction, guide us in the way to go, and, when
necessary, help us “recalculate” our route just like we find while we miss an
exit using GPS.
The promise God
has placed in the Bible is to Trust
in the LORD with all your heart.” In our thinking the word trust means
to rely upon or to have confidence in. But the Hebrew word is stronger. The
word translated “trust” means “to lean with the full body,” “to lay upon.” It
has the idea of stretching yourself out upon a bed or resting on a hard
surface. The word means to put your full weight on something. To trust in
the Lord is to rest your whole weight upon him—to depend on him completely.
One aspect by
which we demonstrate our trust in God is by depending entirely on Him and not
on ourselves, trusting in God’s understanding and not our own. Trusting in the
Lord with all our hearts means that we place no trust in our own hearts.
Unfortunately,
we live in a world that says and believes the adage, “Listen to your heart,”
when God says, “Listen to Me.” To be a Christian and to follow our heart means
that we are leaning on our own understanding. We immediately demonstrate a lack
of trust in God and His Word, which inevitably causes us to go the wrong way.
Few days back I happened
to listen to the testimony of Scott and Janet Willis. Scott is a pastor from
the Chicago area and they were returning home after celebrating a family
birthday party. The car in front of them swerved at the last minute to avoid a
large piece of metal in the road, but Scott was unable to move his van in time.
The metal punctured the gas tank and within seconds the entire car was engulfed
in flames. Scott and Janet managed to fall out of the front seats, but their
children were not as fortunate. All six of their lives were taken in the fiery
inferno. They said within 30 seconds they realized what had happened. Scott
looked at his wife and said, "They’re with the Lord, God has prepared us
for this."
They said right
after the accident the Lord brought Psalm 34:1-4 to their minds. "I will
bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My
soul will make its boast in the LORD; the humble will hear it and rejoice. O
magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the
LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears."
How would we respond if something like this happened to us? Would we be angry with God? That surely isn't trusting Him. Would we expect Him to provide an explanation? That's not trusting Him either. Would we waiver in our faith? Scott and Janet realized their need to trust God with all their heart all the time. For they have realized in their life that He is a God who makes no mistakes. He is a God who is always with us. He is a God always worthy of our praise. He is able to make straight paths for those who trust Him, acknowledge Him and lean not on their own understanding.
Thanks Achen :)
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