As good Christians, we all say that we trust God. But do our actions reflect it?
A lot of times our talk does not equal our walk. I guess that is why the world often calls Christians hypocrites. We say one thing but do the opposite.
Guilty!
Nothing shows this up more clearly than when it comes to parenting. Our lack of trust in God shows up a lot in this area, doesn’t it? In our hovering and worrying over them, especially in the years when they have to take a major exam or when they come to a crossroad in their lives.
I fall prey to it over and over.
For example, I have sent five children through the PSLE exams*. This year, I send another one. And I seem to be right back to where I was when I sent my first through it, worrying if she can clear the benchmark. Worrying about what will happen if she does not.
It doesn’t help that each child presents his/her own challenges.
Worrying is Natural
Let me just say that it IS natural and normal to worry over our children because most parents want the best for their children. And we really want to set them up for success, whatever success looks like for each family.
But the length some parents will go to ensure this success…
God Is Faithful Regardless
Thankfully, despite our manifold failings, God is always faithful. We can trust God to bring our children to where they need to be.
Notice I wrote, “where they need to be”, not where we want them to be. And that requires us to have the faith to trust God.
Letting Go, Trusting God
Let us be encouraged to remember that having the faith to trust God is not an overnight thing or even a one-time thing. And that our gracious God does not expect us to just let go and trust Him from the start of our relationship with Him.
It is instead, a process. As we get to know Him more and better, our trust in Him naturally increases.
He understands and knows how weak we are and He always meets us at our level of faith. He then gently and patiently encourages us to grow in faith because while he doesn’t expect overnight growth, He does expect growth. We are not to always remain an infant in our faith walk.
Step-By-Step
And I am very grateful for this step-by-step process.
In our faith walk, this is usually how it goes:
- He calls, giving us an assignment.
- We wrestle with Him, with ourselves.
- We answer His call and take up the assignment.
- We find Him faithful.
- Our faith increases.
- We trust Him a little more than when we first began.
Then He gives another assignment or increases the scope of the current assignment. And the process repeats itself.
Each time we answer and obey, our trust in Him then increases because He shows us that He is faithful. Faith building upon faith.
We saw it happen when He asked us to trust Him with our family size, when He asked us to homeschool, and when He asked Henson to step out into fulltime ministry and then to leave the security of the employ of the church.
This is not to boast to you of our faith but to encourage you not to be discouraged in your walk with God.
Letting Go Is Not Easy
Has it been easy? After all, He has come through for us so many times, right? The answer is NO. In fact, it becomes a little harder.
Because each time He calls, He requires a little more from us. Our trust in Him has to be stretched more. Our lives need to be pruned a little more. We need to die to ourselves a little more.
Neither stretching, pruning or dying is painless.
But it is worth it. And remember,
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:24, ESV.
Your Turn
What has God called you to do? Is there something or someone He has asked you to surrender to Him?
Let us encourage each other to just put our lives into His hands and trust that He will lead us to where we need to be. Letting go, trusting God is not easy but is the best thing we can ever do.
Be blessed as you learn to trust God.
*PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) is an annual national examination that is taken by candidates at the end of their final year of primary school education, in Singapore. More details can be found on the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board website.
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