Trust

It was so exciting recently to watch an adult water baptism service in our church and to hear three different personal journeys of faith in Jesus. One was a young lady of sixteen who had been in the church since she was a baby of two weeks old. She had had the privilege of growing up in a Christian family and had many stories of how God had shown His love to her. He intervened in her choice of A level exams and led her to a subject she had not even considered. It was a hundred times easier and better. She urged us all to trust in the Lord because what we think we know is no match for what God knows. We should trust His judgement in every decision we make. She chose the above verse as her special Baptism verse.

An older man was also water-baptised and shared that he only started coming to church four years ago and he was extremely cautious at first. He has now discovered that God is real and listens to our prayers. God has helped him to deal with some bad stuff that happened in his past and he was ready now to trust in God, put the past behind him, start a new future and proclaim his love for Jesus to everyone. His bible verse was this, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

The other young lady of twenty-three had joined the church at eleven years old with her mum and brothers. Her relationship to her earthly father had not been great and it had been hard for her. The church community had kept her rooted in the love of Jesus and never let her lose sight of the fact that she had a heavenly Father who whole-heartedly loved her. She had always had a rebellious nature, but now she knew the most radical thing she could do was to publicly declare her faith.

To me it was a reminder that we all have the choice to make whether we want to put our trust in the Lord. When things are difficult, we might start feeling that God doesn’t care. God asks us to trust Him through all the circumstances of life. We must keep on choosing again and again to trust Him and ask Him for guidance.

Proverbs Chapter 3 is all about choosing the Lord’s path for us. ‘Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones’ (Proverbs 3:7-8). ‘You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap’ (Proverbs 3:24-26).

I love this song ‘Thank You for Fathering me’ (2015) by Pete James and Aaron Keyes.

‘Love wider than oceans, grace deeper than seas, even before my time began, the Father adopted me. Held near to Your heartbeat, You hear when I call. Even when I can't see Your hand, I know I can trust Your heart. Because You fathered me before my first breath. You'll father me into life beyond death. I know that every moment Your grace has been over my life, and I thank You for fathering me. Beyond where my path goes, love's twisting and turns, even when I can't hear Your voice, I know I can trust Your word. Yes, I know I can trust You, Lord.  I know I am fearfully, wonderfully made. I know that every moment Your grace has been over my life, and I thank You for fathering me’