Learning to Trust

Disclaimer:  I am human.  I don't claim to be otherwise.  This blog may (or better yet will) contain errors.  If you'd like to leave a comment or your thoughts, please do so.  If you have constructive criticism, I'll take it.  If you have just plain criticism, I'll leave it.  I just want to share my heart, and my thoughts.  Thank you for reading:).


Its been awhile since I've last wrote, to be more precise, its been roughly three months.  Why?  I could give all sorts of excuses.  The fact that I worked full time this summer, took a stats class online, and had an internship all at he same time took a hefty stab on my free time and hobbies.  Needless to say, I'm back at it - and happy to be.  I'm going to be a consistent blogger (or that is my aspiration), from here on out. 


Now, on to the blog...


There are two seasons in the midwest; winter - and road construction.  Quite literally.  The other day I was driving down I-35.  It was a lengthy stretch of about 200 miles from Minneapolis to centeral Iowa.  And wouldn't you know it, I ran into road construction.  The nice and speedy two lane interstate turned into a 55mph one lane.  I was upset at this 4 mile stretch which was taking up an extra five minutes of my delicate time, and expressing this as a severe case of road rage.  However, as I looked across to the other stretch of I-35 going north, I saw bumper to bumper traffic for miles.  Not just slow moving traffic, but stop and go traffic that seemed to go on forever.  I laughed as I neared the end of this build up thinking, "You don't even know what's comin!" 


The next thought that popped into mind was "Samantha, lately, I have been like you, and you have been like the person about to hit that 10 mile stretch of ugly traffic."  It was that nice, gentle, voice of Papa God that I had not heard in some time (due to my own fault of laziness - but that is another story).  I was alarmed at this thought.  What could this possibly mean?  God on this side of the road, and me on the other?  I began to sit on this thought for awhile, wanting to dismiss it but unable to.  Finally it came to me.  God was telling me that He knew better then I did what was ahead of me - and that I needed to trust Him, even when I didn't feel like it, because Him and Him alone can see the "block of traffic" that I was about to hit. By trusting in myself I would hit that block of traffic, but by trusting in Him, I could avoid it.  


I realize this not make all that much sense.  It makes sense in my head but then as I write it it comes out in mumbo jumbo.  Let me simplify.  We are a people who love control.  Who love to make our own decisions and put all trust in ourselves.  We think we know whats best, and we believe that our way is the (only) right way.  However, God is beyond the "now" of our lives.  He knows whats best - after all He does have plans to prosper us, give us hope, and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  Then why do we consistently lean on our own (and weak) human strength when God already has a plan, and knows best?  


Learning to trust in God has been one of the hardest, but most rewarding things I have ever done.  Don't get me wrong - I'm still learning, but its getting better every day.  For a long time, I felt the urge and compulsion to control everything in my life.  However, lately I've just submitted and felt comforted by the fact that the God I believe in is much more worthy to trust with my life than I am.  If He has plans to prosper me, give me hope, give me a future, make my paths straight, counsel and watch over me (all promises that the Bible makes, Jer 29:11, Psalm 32:8, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 145:18)- who better to put complete trust in?  


So here is my challenge.  Trust in the Lord.  Really trust in Him.  Meditate on those verses.  Figure out what areas your not giving Him complete control and trust over.  


Psalm 118:8 “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”