Trust and OK

I’ll never forget a story about a little boy who loved to sing the hymn “Trust and Obey,” but he didn’t have the words quite right. In his own childlike way, he sang:

Trust and OK
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and OK.

I wish I could say that I never struggle with trusting God, but despite the many promises He’s made to us, I still get anxious. Maybe you do too.

I recently discovered a new weapon against worry. It happened when I shared my testimony with my church small group Bible study. I hadn’t had much time to prepare so before I began, I prayed: God, please make this testimony all about you, not about me.

Then, I began to tell my story. I told the group about growing up in a loving, stable family, but struggling with a scary spiritual question: When I die, am I really good enough to go to heaven?

As an 11-year-old, I believed that Jesus had made it possible to go to heaven, but I needed to earn my way by doing good works. I realized that this created a huge chasm between me, the sinner, and the holy, perfect God. I knew I could not bridge that gap and I desperately wanted someone else to do it for me.

When I was 20 years old, a campus Bible study leader taught me that salvation is a freely offered gift that only Jesus can purchase. I accepted that gift. The joy and relief made me almost delirious. I had found a deeply personal relationship with the God who fully knows me, yet loves me exactly as I am.

Why had God allowed a nine-year gap between my desire to know the truth and the day I discovered the answer? Perhaps, I told my small group, God used that time to prepare me for working at Stonecroft. He wanted me to remember what it meant to live without truly knowing Jesus.

Then I shared about the times when God arranged “coincidences” (the kind only He could have orchestrated) to open the door to three positions in ministry. Two of those careers, including my position at Stonecroft, came swiftly, right after painful layoffs. My small group literally cheered when I shared how one new job began on the very same day the severance pay and benefits from the previous job expired.

Their delight in God’s work on my behalf spurred me to tell even more stories. My testimony became almost a game: I had 15 minutes to remember and share as many amazing “God did it” stories as I could.

I told my small group about the challenges and heartaches God has brought me through. Some of these experiences had no “happy endings,” but they made me stronger and surer of His presence and care for me. I recounted a time when God didn’t change my circumstances, but He did change my attitude, and that made all the difference.

What about you? Have you ever taken a few moments to remember God’s miraculous work and His sustaining presence in your own life? I invite you to make a written record of the times when He did the impossible, even if the impossible was to help you take just one more step.

Keep your story in your Bible or journal. Then, when you face a new and daunting challenge, read your story and ask yourself a simple question: If I know that I will see God’s faithfulness by the end of this journey, why not take every single step with peace?