Low, He is With You

Trust.

Many people struggle to trust God with their lives.  Even harder – the lives of their children. 

We tell ourselves peace will come when the control to life’s situations is placed firmly in our hands.  But the truth is… that’s a lie.

Truth is, we know our strengths… and we know our weaknesses.  And the struggle of trying to keep everything on track wears us down and burns us out.

But trust?

Release?  Surrender?  Rely?

The what if’s pile high and anxiety pushes its way into the forefront of your mind – stealing every moment we willingly lay on the altar of fear.

This weekend, Tim and I travelled to Georgia.  Flying has never been my favorite thing to do since it correlates so well with my fear of heights.  (It’s true that Jesus said, ‘Lo, I am with you always’... but I often wonder what if He meant ‘Low, I am with you always?’)  Needless to say, we had air miles to use up and I found myself, once again, sitting on an airplane. 

Just before takeoff, the pilot poked his head in to announce that there was a problem – something with the pressure system for the cabin. 

Oh fantastic.

I immediately began to wonder what that could mean – would we all look like shrink wrapped versions of ourselves if every ounce of air got sucked out of the cabin in mid-air?

Hmm..  or more like beef jerky? 

I looked at the other passengers, trying to imagine the scene.  It wasn’t pretty and suddenly I wished I had reminded my kids where our will was filed… or better yet - that we had just stayed home where life is safe (yeah right) and the ground meets my feet and cabin pressure never crosses my mind.

Too late.  Here we were, stuck on a plane with faulty mechanics.

“Not to worry though,” the pilot said, interrupting my thoughts, “maintenance is on it’s way.”

Sure enough.  Two burly men soon boarded the plane and poked around at stuff up near the cockpit.  In my opinion, they didn’t look like they knew what they were doing, but they appeared to know more than me so I didn’t offer my assistance.

Knowing trained professionals were on the case (even if they didn’t look the part) I sat back – a little more at ease.

That’s when God decided it was time to have a conversation.

“Soooo… it appears to Me that you trust them more than Me.”

“What?  What are You talking about?”  I was appalled at the thought.

“It’s true, Lynette.  You trust the maintenance guys – whom you know nothing about to make the right adjustments to this airplane more than you trust Me with your life.”

I sat there wondering if I should tell God that He was sitting in someone’s seat and that He needed to move – but He kept talking.

“More than that – you trust that pilot – whom you do not know – to get you from here to Atlanta.”  He paused, then went on.  “You are willingly placing your life in his hands and you know nothing… nothing about him.  You have simply chosen to trust him with your life.”

Ouch.  Point taken. 

But He wasn’t done.

“Lynette, I am your Abba Father – I know everything about you.  I love you more than anyone on this earth ever could – and you trusted the maintenance guy more than Me!” 

We live in a world where we grasp at anything or anyone in whom we can place our security.  We look to money, politicians, friends, family, spouses, status, titles, abilities and so much more to calm our frantic minds and tell us everything is going to be ok.

Ahh… but Jeremiah 17 tells us the folly of trusting in that which is imperfect.

Are you struggling to trust the Perfect One?  Eat up these words and welcome the blessing of trusting in God. 

God’s Message:

“Cursed is the strong one

who depends on mere humans,

Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone

and sets God aside as dead weight.

He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie,

out of touch with the good earth.

He lives rootless and aimless

in a land where nothing grows.

“But blessed is the man who trusts Me, God,

the woman who sticks with God.

They’re like trees replanted in Eden,

putting down roots near the rivers—

Never a worry through the hottest of summers,

never dropping a leaf,

Serene and calm through droughts,

bearing fresh fruit every season.

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,

a puzzle that no one can figure out.

But I, God, search the heart

and examine the mind.

I get to the heart of the human.

I get to the root of things.

I treat them as they really are,

not as they pretend to be.”