Chasing Trust

I love my dog. His name is Chase and he's a half-yellow lab, half pit bull, mix who's as energetic and loving as any dog I've ever seen. Although I would never trade him for any other four footed beast some of his habits can really gnaw on me. One of these is his unbending propensity to search out every last stray stick, or simply low hanging branch, in the back yard and upon finding the softest thickest part of the lawn to lay down and proceed to shred them to pieces. After he's through I've got the perfect place for yet another fire pit (okay, so perhaps I'm exaggerating a little, but not much).

Somehow though, this tale wagging friend of mine taught me a very valuable lesson while in the midst of one of his lumber consuming tirades. You see I had been struggling off and on for at least weeks with trusting God to accomplish something He'd spoken to me. I never questioned the content of His direction to me, or even the reasons, simply the timing. As it turns out the timing isn't that simple after all. I'd felt fairly certain about the time frame I thought things would be worked out in. Yet, the date on the calendar has steadily approached with no sign of the change I've been awaiting. All along I've heard the Lord whispering to me to remain patient and to continue trusting Him.

Still the effort to "help God out" with the details has seemed truly necessary at times. Of course it really wasn't, but hadn't I patiently waited the prescribed time already? I mean really, I've watched those calendar pages change a few too many times already. So clearly it's time for action. The more focused I became on the specific time frame of this thing being accomplished the more my peace and joy were stripped from me just like the shreds of bark in Chase's teeth. I really do think it was about the time I saw him doing this one afternoon and it was as if God whispered to me, "You haven't really been trusting me at all, have you? The more anxious you've become the more you've allowed yourself to be chewed on and your peace is devoured. No, you need to be like one of those trees back there. They're firmly rooted and their branches extend covering nearly your entire yard. But they didn't start that way did they. It took time. Trust me."

I don't know about you but I don't want to live in a way that finds me constantly chasing the ideal of trust. I would much rather live in trust of Him who is utterly and completely trustworthy.

Have you been living day to day with peace, or is anxiety more prevalent? Would you prefer to be like the sticks in my backyard sought by my dog, or would you rather by like the trees firmly rooted and flourishing? Truly trusting Jesus, daily and with everything, can alone bring you the peace your soul needs.