Proverbs 3: 5-6
“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 your paths straight.”
About four years ago, our stoke of what some call “bad luck” started. My husband was having excruciating pain in his leg that turned out to be a rare vein malformation which required a specialist and surgery. About a week or so after that, my mother ended up in the hospital having triple bypass surgery.
Not even a year later, my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Six months later, she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. One month later, I had skin cancer that required surgery on my leg (complete with 30 stitches and a cast). And then three months after that, another cancer appeared on my arm, again requiring surgery.
All was fairly calm until this November when I found another spot on my leg (which does by the way require the same surgery and another cast). Just after that, my daughter came home with head lice. Now THAT is a real pain and you must be extremely diligent to get rid of those little critters.
And just this week, I kid you not… I was diagnosed with shingles while my child simultaneously had a very high fever/ virus!!!!!
Whew! Just to type it all is exhausting!!!
I am sure I am not the only out there who feels like Job at times. Surely not. We all have tough times and we all have struggles. And for so many of us, when it rains, it pours! There are seasons of blessing and there just seem to be seasons of hardships.
What I have come to realize is that it is these struggles we face that build the trust that Proverbs 3 speaks of.
Trust is confidence. It is reliance. It is expecting strength, ability, surety, integrity of something or someone.
Because most of us have been betrayed by someone, we often feel it hard to trust.
Have you ever played a game where you fell backward and had to trust someone to catch you? Was it easy for you or did you turn around and constantly look over your shoulder to be sure they were there? I have been forced to play that game at corporate outings and I have to admit, it is a very hard thing for me to trust someone to catch me.
But I trust God.
One of the hardest stories to read in the bible is the one of Abraham and Isaac.
“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
—Genesis 22:1-14
It is so difficult to imagine a scenario where God would actually ask us to sacrifice our child. But I think the point is that God asks us to trust Him. He is not a cold or cruel or ruthless God. He is a loving God who wants us to know that He loves us and we can trust Him.
How about you? Do you trust God? I mean, when you are suffering—REALLY suffering---how do you trust God that He is on your side working things into good somehow?
How do you stop yourself from crying? How do you stop the pain? How can you possibly see the good in some things just too terrible to even write about?
How do you trust God when He takes someone from you that you love?
How do you trust God when you are suffering due to a terrible disease or illness?
Well the bible says right here in proverbs that we must not lean on our own understanding. We just must realize that we just do not have the ability to completely understand God’s plan. We are just called to trust.
Obviously, I am not a theologian. I do not have any fancy software. But just a simple google search tells me that the word "Trust" is mentioned at least 147 times in the bible, depending on the version that you read.
Here are just a few of my favorite verses:
“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”—Psalm 9:10
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.”- Psalm 32:10
To trust God, you must make an initial leap of faith. You must just take that first step. I know the more I trust Him, the more peace I feel. And I can tell you this with certainty: God has NEVER EVER forsaken me. Ever. I am always able to connect the dots later and see how something bad He allowed was turned to something good.
I often remind myself that all we are able to see is what He is allowing us to go through. What we cannot see is what He is preventing us to go through.
Shingles is the most recent storm I have encountered. Not only are they are extremely painful, but they also appeared one week before I was scheduled to have surgery on my latest skin cancer, which added to my stress. This skin cancer is an aggressive one (squamous carcinoma) so I want it out fast. Delaying my surgery just really did not seem like an option for me.
“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 your paths straight.”
About four years ago, our stoke of what some call “bad luck” started. My husband was having excruciating pain in his leg that turned out to be a rare vein malformation which required a specialist and surgery. About a week or so after that, my mother ended up in the hospital having triple bypass surgery.
Not even a year later, my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Six months later, she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. One month later, I had skin cancer that required surgery on my leg (complete with 30 stitches and a cast). And then three months after that, another cancer appeared on my arm, again requiring surgery.
All was fairly calm until this November when I found another spot on my leg (which does by the way require the same surgery and another cast). Just after that, my daughter came home with head lice. Now THAT is a real pain and you must be extremely diligent to get rid of those little critters.
And just this week, I kid you not… I was diagnosed with shingles while my child simultaneously had a very high fever/ virus!!!!!
Whew! Just to type it all is exhausting!!!
I am sure I am not the only out there who feels like Job at times. Surely not. We all have tough times and we all have struggles. And for so many of us, when it rains, it pours! There are seasons of blessing and there just seem to be seasons of hardships.
What I have come to realize is that it is these struggles we face that build the trust that Proverbs 3 speaks of.
Trust is confidence. It is reliance. It is expecting strength, ability, surety, integrity of something or someone.
Because most of us have been betrayed by someone, we often feel it hard to trust.
Have you ever played a game where you fell backward and had to trust someone to catch you? Was it easy for you or did you turn around and constantly look over your shoulder to be sure they were there? I have been forced to play that game at corporate outings and I have to admit, it is a very hard thing for me to trust someone to catch me.
But I trust God.
One of the hardest stories to read in the bible is the one of Abraham and Isaac.
“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
—Genesis 22:1-14
It is so difficult to imagine a scenario where God would actually ask us to sacrifice our child. But I think the point is that God asks us to trust Him. He is not a cold or cruel or ruthless God. He is a loving God who wants us to know that He loves us and we can trust Him.
How about you? Do you trust God? I mean, when you are suffering—REALLY suffering---how do you trust God that He is on your side working things into good somehow?
How do you stop yourself from crying? How do you stop the pain? How can you possibly see the good in some things just too terrible to even write about?
How do you trust God when He takes someone from you that you love?
How do you trust God when you are suffering due to a terrible disease or illness?
Well the bible says right here in proverbs that we must not lean on our own understanding. We just must realize that we just do not have the ability to completely understand God’s plan. We are just called to trust.
Obviously, I am not a theologian. I do not have any fancy software. But just a simple google search tells me that the word "Trust" is mentioned at least 147 times in the bible, depending on the version that you read.
Here are just a few of my favorite verses:
“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”—Psalm 9:10
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.”- Psalm 32:10
To trust God, you must make an initial leap of faith. You must just take that first step. I know the more I trust Him, the more peace I feel. And I can tell you this with certainty: God has NEVER EVER forsaken me. Ever. I am always able to connect the dots later and see how something bad He allowed was turned to something good.
I often remind myself that all we are able to see is what He is allowing us to go through. What we cannot see is what He is preventing us to go through.
Shingles is the most recent storm I have encountered. Not only are they are extremely painful, but they also appeared one week before I was scheduled to have surgery on my latest skin cancer, which added to my stress. This skin cancer is an aggressive one (squamous carcinoma) so I want it out fast. Delaying my surgery just really did not seem like an option for me.
Anyway, while I was suffering on my sofa, I was wondering why on earth God was allowing me to endure this pain. I started researching the causes of shingles and trying to figure it all out. I started to seek answers.
Causes of shingles include stress and auto-immune issues, as well as any chemotherapy. Now I do have a bit of stress but I have to tell you that I think I handle it fairly well. So I just didn’t think that was the culprit. What I did realize is that I have been applying a chemotherapy cream to my foot on a plantar wart for over a year. I have also just started to apply a different chemotherapy cream to my face in an effort to avoid any cancers from appearing there.
What comes with any drug is about 10,000 words in very small print that warn you of side effects. Most of the time we ignore them.
But when I read the fine print on these creams, I saw that what I have been using is known to occasionally cause a blood clotting disorder, thrombocytopenia, which is very serious. I just happen to have a mild case of that anyway and it was a very big issue when I was pregnant, causing significant issues in delivering my baby.
Suddenly, all was clear. Had I had the surgery on my leg with this chemo in my body, I feel sure I would have had bleeding issues that could have led to a whole host of problems, even death.
So God allowed shingles but he prevented something far worse. And for that, I praise Him!!!
*****
Causes of shingles include stress and auto-immune issues, as well as any chemotherapy. Now I do have a bit of stress but I have to tell you that I think I handle it fairly well. So I just didn’t think that was the culprit. What I did realize is that I have been applying a chemotherapy cream to my foot on a plantar wart for over a year. I have also just started to apply a different chemotherapy cream to my face in an effort to avoid any cancers from appearing there.
What comes with any drug is about 10,000 words in very small print that warn you of side effects. Most of the time we ignore them.
But when I read the fine print on these creams, I saw that what I have been using is known to occasionally cause a blood clotting disorder, thrombocytopenia, which is very serious. I just happen to have a mild case of that anyway and it was a very big issue when I was pregnant, causing significant issues in delivering my baby.
Suddenly, all was clear. Had I had the surgery on my leg with this chemo in my body, I feel sure I would have had bleeding issues that could have led to a whole host of problems, even death.
So God allowed shingles but he prevented something far worse. And for that, I praise Him!!!
*****
I hope with this blog today you are able to also find the will to trust. And with that trust, don’t be afraid to seek the answers. Don’t be afraid to seek God. It is all right there if you are just willing to seek.
Deuteronomy 4:29 “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Jeremiah 29:13 “ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.”
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
With every struggle I face, I appreciate more. I take less for granted. I acknowledge my blessings. And that is such a gift.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” —Romans 15:13
Deuteronomy 4:29 “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Jeremiah 29:13 “ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.”
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
With every struggle I face, I appreciate more. I take less for granted. I acknowledge my blessings. And that is such a gift.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” —Romans 15:13
Here is a wonderful song for you to enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKISYTwnn0A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKISYTwnn0A
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