TRUST IN GOD
CUT THE ROPE
Kathy
Bernard - Publisher
But when I
am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I trust in God, so why
should I
be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? -Psalm 56: 3 - 11
Do you put your
"TRUST" in the God of all possibilities?
It is interesting
how we trust the people who surround us. We trust that the
delicious food that we savor in restaurants will not harm us, we
trust that the surgeons who operate on us are qualified, we
trust that the banks will not steal from us, we trust there is
safety for our children in schools, and when we go aboard a
plane, we trust we will arrive at our destination safely, and
the list goes on and on.
There
is a story of a mountain climber who was desperate to conquer
the Aconcagua. After years of preparation, he was ready for the
climb. Now Aconcagua
is the highest
mountain in the Americas (22,841 ft) in the province of Mendoza,
Argentina. Although other climbers offered to accompany him,
he wanted the glory to himself. He started climbing. As he
climbed it became later and later and soon began to darken.
Unfortunately he had not prepared for camping, and his water
flask was half empty, but he decided to keep on going.
It
grew dark
and night fell with a heaviness because of the high altitude.
Visibility was zero. Everything was black. There was no
moon, and the stars were covered by the clouds. The man became
uneasy as he climbed, and tightened his grip on the rope. As he
was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, he
slipped and fell. Falling rapidly he could only see blotches of
the darkness he passed. He felt a terrible sensation of being
sucked in by gravity, and in those anguishing moments he thought
certainly he would die.
But
then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. But like any
good mountain climber he had staked himself with a long rope
tied to his waist. Suspended in the air in the stillness, he
had no other choice but to shout out "HELP ME GOD. PLEASE
HELP ME!" All of a sudden he heard a deep voice from heaven
came and said... "What do you want Me to do?"
The
man cried, "Save me. Please save me!!" God asked, "Do you
REALLY think that I can save you?"
"Yes, my God, I know you can!" the man cried. God said, "Then
cut the rope that is holding you up!"
There was
a moment of silence and stillness as the man thought harder and
harder. He kept holding tighter to the rope in fear.
The next
day a rescue team found a frozen mountain climber hanging
strongly to a rope only two feet off the ground.
Trust
is a difficult thing for most of us when we find ourselves
facing the hardships and trials of life. We wonder why so many
burdens fall at our feet and often we act on our limited human
knowledge, not realizing that God is the fount of all things and
is able to see with heavenly wisdom. We fail to see that He
will carry us through the concerns we face in this earthly life,
and so little by little we begin to lose some of the trust and
faith that we thought we had. And this is precisely when Satan,
our adversary, quietly steps in and put doubts within us, hoping
to steal our shaky trust in God.
Our
priority should be to place our trust always in God for there is
only one cure-all that God gives us as Christian believers and
that is having a strong trust in Him.
This means refusing to be afraid
and refusing to panic. When
life
challenges us, know there is Someone Who is always at our side,
and that person is our heavenly Father, Who sees all things. He
will give us courage when we are weak, and if it is His will and
we trust Him, He will step in and make things right. Know
however, it is through our earthly pains that we learn our
suffering makes us stronger than ever in our faith, stronger
because we know He is right there with us. So when we stumble
through bad times, realize that God, with compassion, will
lighten our loads with everlasting mercy and carry us safely
through.
Our worst days are never so bad that we are beyond the reach of
God's grace.
Trusting
God is the principle thing we as Christians must hold
tightly to, for how can we serve Him if we do not trust Him?
Trust does not mean relying or depending upon our humanity, but
on Him, keeping in mind what Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 12:2,
"Behold, God is my
salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord
God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation."
The 17th century
bishop of Geneva, Saint Francis de Sales tells: “
Do not
look forward to the changes and chances of this life with fear.
Rather, look to them with full confidence that, as they arise,
God to whom you belong will, in His love, enable you to profit
by them. He has guided you this far in life. Hold fast to His
dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all trials. When
you cannot stand, He will carry you lovingly in His arms. Do
not look forward to what may happen tomorrow for the same
Eternal Father who takes care of you today will take care of you
tomorrow, and every day of your life. Either He will shield you
from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear
it. Be at peace then, and put aside all useless thoughts, all
vain dreads and all anxious imaginations."
God
does not lie and His Word is eternal. His love for us is
unconditional and will never change. When we
trust, we no longer rely on self but depend solely on His
goodness, which is the source of our strength. And because we
place ourselves in His Hands through trust, He blesses us with
the gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus
Christ. Are we worthy? No, not a single one of us is worthy
but through His love He erases our transgressions through the
shed blood of Jesus. But
just
believing in God has no complete value to us; we must have full
trust which is the practical outworking of our Christian faith.
Pope
Francis,. speaking at Vatican City (CNS) has this to say about
trust in God:
"Too many Christians have watered-down hope, lukewarm faith in
God....there are too many "defeated Christians" in the church
who do not fully believe in the faith handed down to them by way
of tradition and who do not completely trust in God."
Continuing, he says, "We know how to ask things of God, how to
thank God, but to worship God, praise God, that's something
more."
How
strong is your trust? Do you place that trust in God? Would
you let go of the 'rope' if God asked you to? When life
becomes twisted and you cannot find a way out, will you give
your burdens and trials to the Lord or will you strive to hang
onto them by yourself? If you trust in God, then cut the rope.
“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right
hand
and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13.
I ASKED GOD
I asked for strength and
God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity and God gave me a brain and brawn to
work.
I asked for courage and God gave me danger to overcome.
I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors and God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted and I received everything I needed.
- Author Unknown
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