"Be patient and await His leisure in cheerful hope, with heart content, To take whate'er thy Father's pleasure and His discerning love hath sent, Nor doubt our inmost wants are known to Him who chose us for His own.
"God knows full well when times of gladness shall be the needful thing for thee. When He has tried thy soul with sadness and from all guile has found thee free, He comes to thee all unaware and makes thee own His loving care."
Organizations sometimes have employees participate in team-building and trust-building activities. One exercise may require an individual to fall backwards, trusting that fellow workers will be there to break the fall. In another test, a person wearing a blindfold must depend only on a voice for guidance down a path or through a simple obstacle course. Such exercises may not be very difficult for us. We know that other people are there for us; we can hear them and sense the presence of others around us. We can physically hear the voice calling out directions and feel the arms that support us.
The hymn instructs us to be patient, waiting "in cheerful hope, with heart content," for God to act in our lives. That kind of trust may at times be more difficult than trusting people in a teamwork exercise. We cannot physically hear God's thundering voice or feel His touch or sense His presence. As Scripture reminds us, "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Yet, by faith we can be certain that our wants and needs "are known to Him who chose us for His own." The apostle Paul encourages us to set aside our wavering trust: "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31b-32). If we trust God for so great a thing as our eternal salvation, we can surely trust Him in all else.
We depend on our senses and rightly so. God created us to experience the world through sight and sound and smell, through touch and taste. He has graciously given us His Son to be our Savior, and it is through Christ Jesus that the God in whom we trust comes to us even when we are "all unaware" and calls us to trust His loving care. He comes to us in ways that even our physical senses can grasp. We hear Him speak whenever and wherever His Word is proclaimed. We feel His touch and taste His forgiveness as we receive Jesus' body and blood in His Holy Supper. We hear and taste and trust, until that day when we stand in His presence, when faith becomes sight and trust is fulfilled beyond all doubt.
THE PRAYER: Almighty God and Savior, You know our inmost wants and needs. Lead us by Your Spirit to trust You in all things. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, ""If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee," which is found on page 750 of the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
1. What are some things you most consider when thinking about trusting someone else?
2. Are you able to remain at peace and lean on God when things are tense in your life?
3. How does Jesus' character affect your trust in Him?
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 1-3 1 Corinthians 6
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