Trust-Muscle
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For the Lord GOD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.’ Isaiah 12:2, (RSV)
The longest distance in the world is approximately the 12’’ to 14’’ between your heart and your brain, (depending upon how tall you are). That is the space where we know-we-should-but-we-just-can’t takes over.
Trust takes practice. For whatever reason, we do not exercise that muscle as much as other muscles. I have seen joggers finish marathons, divers gracefully enter the water with hardly a splash, unknowns score winning touchdowns and underdogs become rock-solid leaders. All of these take a great amount of skill and preparation.
The moment we start talking about exercising our faith, there seems to be less interest in the follow through. Why? Could it be because no medals are handed out, the national anthem isn’t played or sung, flags are not waived?
We live in a fierce spiritual battle where Satan wants us to feel afraid of everything. That might just be his most powerful weapon of choice. He has become skilled at using what seems to paralyze us.
We make things so difficult for ourselves. If we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we need only to speak the words of affirmation — “Jesus, I trust You!”, and He hears us. But oh, how we drag our feet! By placing our trust firmly where it belongs, miracles occur. Healings happen, families are reunited, and blessings are abundant.
Our trust-muscle needs exercise for it to work when we need it most. If we don’t, we may find ourselves in a bad way when hit with a crisis. Our faith-strength may just be too weak to carry us.
Throughout the day, we are bombarded with situations that need decisions. We must get in the habit of praying before we take any steps. We must ask for His guidance. Then we need to trust what we have received. In our humanness, we may get it wrong but He reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Him (Romans 8:1).
It is simply unwise to let this muscle become atrophied. We all know someone who is strong in their faith. Whatever happens, they just ride the waves and continue to be at peace. They can smile when facing big trouble. Their trust-muscles are tight and always ready.
Add a few minutes a day to stretch your trust-muscles and toughen up. You won’t regret it!
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Words of life. We need Your guidance and the willingness to practice trusting You every step of the way. AMEN.