Friday Introductions: For Such a Time as This

When my oldest daughter was 5, we went to a water park. She was so excited because she was tall enough to go down all but one of the slides. We had talked and talked about how much fun it would be. Then we got to the top of the slide. Where she promptly sat on the slide and announced she wasn't going down.

She was scared. She couldn't see the bottom. We couldn't go down together. She wanted to go back down the steps.

I knew that once she went down the slide, she would love it. The question was whether I could get her to go down. I had checked out the water at the bottom. It wasn't too deep. She could stand up. And her dad was waiting for her. I was going down the slide right next to her and would hit the water at the same time as her.

After five minutes of dithering and crying, I got her to sit on the slide. Then I did the only thing I could. I gave her a push. Thirty seconds later, I was climbing out of the pool with a grinning child who couldn't wait to go again.

Sitting at the top of the slide, my daughter lacked the one thing that would get her moving -- trust. She didn't trust that I knew what I was talking about when I said it would be fun. She needed a little push to get going.

And so often, we lack trust that God knows what He's talking about. When tough things come our way -- from a lost job to a chronic illness to a child who has lost their way -- we forget that God has it all in control. We're afraid to step out down a new path that God has called us to because we don't trust enough.

God wants us to trust Him. He has proven over and over again through the ages that He is trustworthy. Psalm 9:10 says "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." No matter the circumstances, God is trustworthy. He has never forgotten those who trust in Him.

Patti Hazlett has written a great post about trusting God on her blog, For Such a Time as This. She's struggling with having lost her job. Her honesty and the wisdom she imparts will make you do some soul searching about whether you really trust God. Check out it and the other great posts on her blog. You won't be sorry you did.

God has promised "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We simply have to step out and trust those words. If we push aside our fears and take a step forward, we'll find ourselves saying to God, "Let's go again."