Just Waiting On You Dad

​Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I want to address the subject of trust. How can we function, really, without the ability to have hope and trust in the midst of confusing circumstances? I read a story of a missionary family—I can’t remember where I read it (I should have written it down), but it’s a good story. This missionary family was home on furlough, and they were staying at the lake house of a friend. One day, as Mom and Dad were busy, their three children—ages 4, 7, and 12—were playing outside. The four-year-old, as four-year-olds do, escaped the big sister’s watchful eye. He ran down the dock, eyeing the big boat tied to it. As he got closer and more excited, his little feet sent him slipping, and he fell into eight feet of murky, dark water. When the 12-year-old saw what happened, of course, she screamed. Dad pretty much knew immediately what had occurred. He came running, jumped in, and had to resurface several times because, as I said, the water was very murky. But he kept going down, coming up, getting his breath, and going back down. A little later, he found the four-year-old holding tightly to a wooden pier several feet under the dock. He had to pry the little boy’s fingers loose, rushed him to the surface, and said to the little boy in his arms, “Billy, what were you doing down there?” The little guy replied, “Just waiting on you, Dad. Just waiting on you.”

Now, I’m telling you, that is trust—“just waiting on you, Dad.” Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the
Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” That’s hard, isn’t it?
Because we so want the answers to “why” questions. It’s been said that the one thing we owe absolutely to God is to never be afraid of anything. Grace is God’s gift to us, but trust is our gift back to Him. Don’t let your memories of yesterday paralyze your trust for today.

There is a fear of the unknown path that stretches ahead of all of us, no matter how many years we’ve been in ministry. There’s always the unknown ahead of us, and sometimes that fear destroys the childlike trust we maybe used to have. So, we begin to determine and question, and we become fearful. Listen, trust does not guarantee that there won’t be times of confusion and uncertainty—there will be, but know that He’ll give you what you need when you need it. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles and without clues as to the outcome, the trusting heart says this: “I surrender my will and my life to You without reservation and with absolute confidence that You are a loving Heavenly Father, and I can
trust You with my life without explanation.” Somebody said that the way of trust can be a risky business, but to live without risk is to risk not living.

-Susan