God has definitely been teaching me some hard lessons of
late. Last month, a lot was going on back home that was really beyond my
control, even if I were home. But I have always been a “fixer” and a
peacemaker. When things are bad, I feel the need to find a way to solve the
problem, to make it all better. Normally, I can feel some control to help the
situation, but being nearly 5,000 miles away, I felt rather useless.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight
your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
These verses have always been “my” verses which I have had
memorized for as long as I can remember, but I need a daily reminder to
actually apply them and live them out.
Trust has always been something difficult for me. I don’t
think I’m the type that always needs to be in control, but I do like to be able
to help the situation. Since moving to Bulgaria, and leading up to moving here,
there have been so many things in my life that God has really been telling me,
“Trust me!” What will I do when I leave my teaching job? Where do you want me
to go? How will I raise the money to go halfway around the world? How will I
cope without my comfort zone and my friends and family? For each of these and
so many more questions, God has been saying, “Trust me!” And he has provided
for every step. He led me to where I am, but he did not place me here alone. He
has given me a support system here of teammates and friends to help encourage
and grow me. He has been showing
me his faithfulness when I trust him with my life. When I surrender myself to
his call, he directs me, provides for me, and cares for me.
“…I trust in the
Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you
have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have
not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad
place.” Psalm 31: 6-8
Yet, as I have begun to trust God more with my own life, as
everything was happening back home, I was reminded that I am not only supposed
to trust God with my life but also with the lives of those about whom I care. I
will not add anything by worrying about others. But by “prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an
everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Psalm 37:3-6
