Dear Members & Attenders,

An ever-present experience in summer is the parent in the pool coaxing their child to jump to them… I love the water, and I cannot count how many hours I spent in the pool urging one of my kids to jump to me.  First, they would jump straight into my arms.  Then they would jump to a landing that was half me, half water.  Then they would jump into the water just shy of where I stood.  Finally, they would jump into the water and swim to me.

The goal was for the day when they would jump in – joyfully – just for the joy of swimming.  And thinking far beyond the pool, my child’s trust in me bred security in whatever they were called to do.

How much more our Heavenly Father…The progression that the Bible gives us is to know the LORD, to trust Him, to love Him and to obey Him.  All of these are commands.  And obviously all of them tie into each other.  But like dominoes falling, if you truly come to know Him – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – you will trust Him, love Him and obey Him in whatever He calls you to do. 

So why is this ever a problem?  Because we don’t want to trust, love or obey Him.  We don’t want to have to rely on someone other than ourselves.  We don’t want to submit to anyone’s will other than our own.  We don’t want to be needy.  We do want to be God.

So when the LORD calls you to trust Him, just be sure of this.  He never promises you your own omniscience of His plan – that’s impossible.  You’re not infinite, only He is.  And He never promises you full disclosure of all factors in His calling – because then that would make Him the applicant and you the judge – which is blasphemous.  You are not God and He is not accountable to you.

He does promise that you can trust His power and His goodness throughout whatever it is that He is calling you to do.  And the biggest proof is in Christ Jesus.  When you see what HE has done to save us – and all while we were antagonistic to Him – at least you know that you can trust Him.

Things to pray for:

–  To know the LORD in all of His power and goodness.  Read Isaiah 43:1-13 and Jeremiah 9:23-24, and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and your heart in reading His Word.  Ask Him to help you to know Him.

–  Humility.  How are you (irrationally) expecting the LORD to provide you with omniscience or “full disclosure” before you will trust Him or act on His calling in your life?  Ask Jesus to forgive you and change your heart to trust His power and goodness.

–  Confidence in what He has called you to do in His Word.  As you can discern what God has called you to (as His child, as someone’s employee, as a spouse, as a parent, whatever) pray that He would secure you in Christ to confidently pursue that particular whatever (see Colossians 3:16-24).

–  Joy in His calling on your life.  Praise God for how good He has been to you, and ask the Spirit to bear the fruit of joy in you for wherever He has you at this point in your life.