Trust

In my life there have been trials, heartaches, criticisms, failed expectations, triumphs, a love greater than I could have ever imagined,  faithful friends,  sunshine, darkness, physical pain, great loss, but now...after walking through these years, there is hope and joy, comfort, love, encouragement, challenge, desire, focus, trust...a new life. Ageless songs speak of His walk with me; His talking with me; His carrying me; His challenging me. I live there.

This person, this Creator, this lover, this strength giver, blesses my every thought, my every move, my every desire. My hope is built on a perfect trust in His undying love.

Can I walk without this trust? Yes. I can follow the lead of the world placing my focus on things or achievements even accolades but I cannot be my utmost for His highest choosing the world's pathway. It is a deep and trial-filled rabbit hole without an exit to glory. Eternity is promised when I choose Him. Its pathway is not without potholes - choices - but keeping in mind His love and the blessings that await I cannot but choose to follow Him.

All in, I trust. I have hope. I am comforted by His presence and His Word. To my Father be all the glory. 

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.   Genesis 2:7 (NASB)

How easily we become immune to the beauty around us. The picture above cannot even begin to show the expanse of the Amazon River. The river is so immense that at its mouth one cannot see the opposite bank. It flows rapidly - so rapidly that it constantly pulls pieces of the shore away. Large chucks of soil with grass still growing float by as do great logs from regions far upstream. 

When I watch this vast river, I am overwhelmed by God's creation. He created all this beauty and then created man and placed him in it. Honestly, there are no words to explain the feeling that wells up inside when I first step on deck of our boat after a night of rest to drink in the beauty. How could God have known just what would touch my heart that very morning? How could He have anticipated my need to see Him? Ah, but I do...I see His hand in the magnificent sky; in the swift flowing water; I hear the sound of children's laughter in the village on the bank; and I feel His presence all around me.

Most recently I have been struck by this sense of His presence. As the words in His book come to life in understanding, my trust is strengthened. It's as though His breath passes over the words and invades my heart. Charles Swindoll in his little devotional book, Perfect Trust, challenges my mind to allow my heart to receive His grace. My trust is being perfected. My ultimate goal: perfect trust. As good as it can possibly be. Perfection of trust. Unquestionable trust in His provision, His love, His care, His comfort. He walks with me. In me. How deep His love must be to give such a great gift...His Son...so that He could walk with me. 

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!          Psalm 150:6