Hey friends, how are you today? How was your week? It’s another beautiful day in our neighborhood. The sun is out, the skies are blue, the birds sing their songs as they take shelter under the cover of the trees.  The squirrels scamper along the fences in search of food but it’s the quietness of the morning that really allows me to breathe.  I don’t count the sounds nature make as noise, it’s our human sounds that can be loud at times.  Although I admit that it’s the thinking, or the thoughts that race through my head that usually seem to be the loudest.  

In the Bible, James writes to the dispersed Jews, he tells them this: “…Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works”. I recently came to the conclusion that I am a worrywart.  I did not know this about myself, I honestly thought that when I prayed about something, I surrendered it to the Lord.  My actions though negated that belief.  My works proved that I am a worrier.  Every time I attempted to cover the loudness of my thoughts by listening to even louder music, it proved my anxiousness.  Every time I buried my head in a book with the sole purpose of ‘not thinking’ it proved my state of mind.  I am a worrier, which of course, also proved that I don’t trust the Lord as much as I thought I did.  Isn’t that sad? My actions proved, I attempted to bury my worries rather than surrender it to the Lord.

A few years ago, I had an epiphany. We always think we trust the Lord, until it’s been proven that we don’t.  Trust is a trait that is obtained under pressure.  My reaction to my “untimely unanswered prayer determines whether I trust God or not.  And when I’ve been called to wait and wait and, wait some more, and more, and more for something that doesn’t arrive, on the day I thought it should, if impatience and frustration or anger is my reaction, then surely, I’ve not trusted the Lord as I thought I did. If rather than working, I choose to merely exist, in that limbo stage, doing nothing or accomplishing the bare minimum, this too proves my belief that my God is untrustworthy. 

The Lord allows curveballs into our lives to prove to us, as Christians, that we need to trust Him more.  Trust in God is a very necessary component in our walk with Him.  Every aspect of our lives, including that of salvation demands trust.  We can’t see our salvation, we can’t touch it, we had to be told by someone, or perhaps we read a book a few thousand years old, yet we trust the work of the Lord, Jesus Christ for our salvation.  We were not there yet we believe a historical account of the matter. 

If we can trust for our salvation; the most foundational aspect of who we are, then why do I find it so hard to trust the Lord, for most of what can be considered temporary in this life? Trust in God displays itself with patience, peace, joy, meekness, self-control, to name a few.  Trust in God puts others first. Trust in God finds no pleasure in selfishness and conceit.  Rather it delights in love and compassion and mercy.  Trust in God is quick to forgive and extends grace.  Trust waits… does it not? 

Since we moved to this house, my husband has renovated the fireplace, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the front porch and has built me a whole closet.  On each occasion, I began with prayer that the Lord would grant me patience.  I am a duct tape kind of girl; my husband is the check it ten times then cut.  Every-time he completes each project, I am absolutely delighted with the results.  The length of time he took has been forgotten, because it is exactly what I wanted, every time.  

The Lord has always answered every prayer at the right time.  He is never, ever late and there are never any disappointments. It is always exactly what I needed, when I needed it and it’s always a blessing to those around me. Then I can boast in the work He has done in my life.  That’s what happens, when I don’t attempt to fix things my way, with duct tape or attempting to ignore it.  

Waiting has not become easier, but I realize now how absolutely necessary it is to prove my trust in the Lord. While I wait though, there is work to be done, ignoring it, or doing the bare minimum is not an option; attempting to bury our worries and pretending it doesn’t exist, surely isn’t the way to go.  

Surrender, commit, work, wait, that’s life lived to its fullest.