Daily PresenceSample

Today’s passage made me think of trust and how difficult a concept it really is. When we wake up in the morning we trust that the lights will turn on when we flip the switch. We’ve all been there. 999 times out of 1,000 the lights come on, however we’ve all encountered a time or two when the lights don’t cut on. Car batteries are good at this too. For several years they lull us to sleep with confidence that in the morning when we crank the engine it will start bringing us to work for the day or to drop the kids off at school. Then one day, out of the blue, the engine doesn’t start. We are stranded at the grocery store or late for an appointment because it just doesn't work every time. I believe these examples illustrate our concept of trust. We won’t even get into people and relationships. Car batteries and light switches are far more consistent.

In Deuteronomy chapters 1 and 2, the story is told of the Israelites and their wandering in the desert. Their wandering was due to a lack of trust. God had given them the land, told them when and where to go, yet they failed to follow his instruction. Deuteronomy 1:26 Moses speaks of the Israelites response to God’s command to enter the land saying, “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in.” God had not let them down once, but I get the sense that the Israelites were just waiting for the one time he would-like a car battery or a light switch.

Just as the Israelites viewed God through the lens of their past experiences with trust, we so often do as well. If our level of trust in God is dependent upon our experiences with people and things on this earth we have been deceived. God is the creator of the Universe, the one who parted the Red Sea, who time and time again has proven he won’t let us down. Let us remember today that we must shift our thinking when it comes to our trust in God. We must walk in the spirit that he has given us and not in our worldly experiences. God will never let us down and will always come through! Today, let us redefine our concept of trust when it comes to our interactions with God.