Trusting

“Trust God’s word and His power more than you trust your own feelings and experiences. Remember, your rock is Christ, and it is the sea that ebbs and flows with the tides, not Him”. Lettie Cowman

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I have answered a call to international missions. My yes is on the table. Recently, I had a difficult call from an organization I haven’t heard from in 4 years, and desperately want to serve with again. I’ve only been home 2 weeks from my last trip and they were asking me to be gone for 4 weeks. I was willing to go. It is a high risk area to travel, with political and civil unrest. I was willing to go. There are multiple health risks. I was willing to go. I prayed God would give me peace. Even though I was willing to go, I did not have peace. My mother, who has dementia and sometimes doesn’t even know where she is, very lucidly told me I needed to stay home for awhile. That made me start questioning. The more I read about the dangers and needed precautions to be taken, I became more hesitant, but still willing to go. I kept praying for peace, and asked friends to pray as well. He opened the door. Surely He intended for me to go.

As I was seeking God’s direction, I turned to His Word and He showed me verses about trusting Him. Psalm 40:4, “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord His trust.” Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” I answered Him, “I do trust that you will keep me safe.”Still no peace.

As I read more about the precautions while traveling and the guidelines, restrictions I would have to follow upon returning to United States, I acknowledged that at this time this trip was not right for me. And then I had peace. I was surprised because I was expecting Him to give me peace about going. I realized that trusting God also means trusting when His answer is no. Trusting Him when we don’t get the answer we want. Trusting when we’ve asked for healing and He says no. Trusting when we’ve asked for a particular opportunity and He says no. Trusting God’s word, and trusting His power more than our feelings and experiences.