Trusting

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16: 9a

Do we see because we trust? or do we trust because we see?  

Do we believe because we see? or do we see because we believe? or do we believe and trust even if we do not see?

I know...sigh...

Jesus said to Thomas, 

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20: 29

There isn't much left to say, is it?  I know that trust in the Lord must come even in the blinding darkness and in the thick fog of doubt.  Regardless of what the world may want to impose as truth and reality, we are called to see with the eyes of faith, which is,  confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11: 1

But, O the evidence the world presents can be so compelling at times.  For eyes that are trained to see only the material and the concrete, it is so very difficult to see the things of the spirit.  Only through faith we can do that.  

In our time of intense waiting, trusting the Lord without seeing the results we expect and desire is very hard, indeed.  But, I believe, that is precisely why we must go through such a period of intense waiting:  to develop that kind of trust.  When we are at the bottom of the pit, unable to rely on anything or anyone else than Christ for our deliverance...that's where He meets us.  When we are in that doctor's wait room, anxiously reviewing all the things that can go wrong...that's where He reveals Himself to us.  When we are moments from that fateful phone call...that's when He knocks at the door of our hearts, so we can answer Him and let Him in.  When we are waiting to hear from the world...that's when He speaks.  When we have our hope on others...that's when He shows us that He is our only source of Hope.

King Asa, a King of Judah who had demonstrated how depending on God was the only way to be, decided to rely on others rather than on the Almighty towards the end of his life.  When God called him on that through Hanani the seer, King Asa rejected the reprimand, got angry and put Hanani in jail.  And what is worse, he never seemed to inquiry of the Lord again. Perhaps, he became too proud of what he viewed as his own achievements, and forgot that all glory is the Lord's.  Even when he was afflicted with disease at the end of his days he refused to rely on God...and the cure never came...regardless of how the best doctors of his day tried to tend to him.  He definitely forgot that The Most High strengthens those who are fully committed to Him.

I think this is a good lesson to keep in mind in our time of waiting...our waiting must be in the Lord, always remembering that His eye is on us, as we remain in Him...whether things are going our way or not.  Our reliance and dependence is on Him Who Is Faithful!

So, next time we are waiting, let's remember that it is in that period where He meets us and shows us that He is the Only One who can extend redemption, absolution, deliverance, hope and peace.  In the Precious Name of Jesus, Our Lord, the Prince of Peace, in whom we take refuge, and in whom we trust always, and especially while we wait.  Amen!