As Christians we talk about putting our faith in God and trusting Him. We often sing songs with words that remind us of this. The words encourage us and cause us to think of our God and all that He has done. It is essential for us and our faith to do this, for without we may fall into unbelief like the children of Israel. If you remember they had witnessed so much by the power of God and yet many perished in the wilderness. We read about them over and over and wonder how this could have happened? How could they not simply trust in God? Oh, you can be sure the Bible is littered with examples of those who did indeed trust wholly in the Lord. The one that comes most to mind is Abraham. He simply did things that are hard to imagine doing. This was a man who didn't just say he trusted in God, but actually lived it!! I wonder about myself, I wonder about us, do we live like we trust in God wholly and completely?

You can look up the word trust, and it would say some variation of this: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Now combine that with what the Proverb writer has to say about trusting in the Lord. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 When we examine Abraham's life, this is what we see. I think truly trusting in the Lord is easier said than done. I believe sometimes we fool ourselves and say that we trust in God but don't live our lives as such. A careful examination of those before us that truly trusted in God would do us much good.

Consider the story of a circus that came to town one day. The featured act was a tight rope walker. Without the safety of a net, the acrobat dazzled the audience with his dare-devil stunts. At one point, he even rolled a wheelbarrow back and forth on the high line wire. He then asked the audience," how many of you believe I can walk on the tight rope without falling?" They all raised their hands since they'd all seen him do it. Then the acrobat asked them, "how many of you believe I can roll this wheel-barrow back and forth across the tight rope?" Again they all raised their hands. Then he asked them, "who would like to be the first volunteer to come up and sit in the wheel-barrow?"

What would you say? Would you trust the acrobat with your life enough to volunteer? This illustrates how difficult it is for most people to truly trust God with their lives. Just like these people saw this man walk back and forth on the tight rope, the children of Israel had seen so many things from God and yet they were unwillingly to get into the wheel-barrow. We have to search our own hearts, and find out if we are like the Israelites or Abraham. Only when we completely submit our lives into His hands can we say that we not only have seen what God has done for us, but that we will sit in the wheel-barrow. We are promised that if we obey His Word in all things, God will direct our lives from earth to heaven. How about you? Are you truly trusting in our Heavenly Father?

Eric