Trust Always

As I write these words we are waiting on a hurricane. It’s not supposed to hit us hard. Still, there is always that chance that it could change its course, gain strength, and then we would be scrambling in more ways than one.

I used to wonder why in the world anyone would live in a place susceptible to hurricanes… or earthquakes… or tsunamis. Why would you put yourself in a position that you could lose everything in an instant, or where you might have to evacuate and leave everything you own, not certain if it would still be there when you returned? Why indeed?

And then I finally realized this. No matter where we are, and no matter what we do, life is a risk. Nothing that we own is permanent. Not one of us has the promise, even of tomorrow. We are living by faith. Or, in some cases, by fear.

In his short letter, James, the half brother of Jesus, wrote these words, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring…Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”

In that brief thought James if reminding us of this truth. We are not in control. As much as we wish we were, we simply are not in control. All of life is dependent. We depend on family and friends. But mostly, we are dependent upon the Lord.

So here is the $100,000 question. Do we trust in, and submit to, the One who is in control? I don’t know about you, but there are many times in life that I would prefer to be in charge. I find it difficult to trust and follow the Lord, because I would like to know where I am going, and what I am doing.

But the truth is that we are living moment by moment, and we do not know what the future holds. But you can know the One who holds the future. When a hurricane is coming, trust in the Lord. When a pandemic is present, trust in the Lord. When a crisis hits close to home, trust in the Lord. No matter what you might face, my advice is the same. Trust in the Lord.