Good morning. I was recently reading a letter from a friend of mine who is a missionary in Africa. The village in which he lives and primarily works is very remote, and is fairly large and spread out. To better get around, he arranged to have a motorized scooter transported to the village. This has made many things easier for him, but it also caused one unfortunate change. Previously, when my friend would take the long walk from his home to the school he and his wife had started at the far end of the village, he would pass by an elderly man who was blind and very hard of hearing. Every morning my friend would shout a warm hello to the elderly blind man, who would respond in kind. Now, however, the scooter eliminated this greeting because as soon as the scooter turned the corner not far from the elderly man’s house he would rush inside. After a week or so my friend stopped at his house and called in, asking if the man would be willing to talk. The problem was that in his blindness the sound of a motor and the vibration the scooter caused as it passed, terrified him. He had never in his long life heard such a noise and he didn’t have a frame of reference in which to place it. When my friend explained that he was the one causing the noise, the man became even more afraid. Finally, my friend had an idea. He asked the elderly man if he trusted him. His response was “I used to trust you.” This wasn’t ideal, but it was a starting point. My friend talked the man into walking with him to the path in front where he’d left the scooter. Once there, he helped the man move his hands around the machine. Once that was done, and he had warned the man of what he was intending to do, he started it up. The man jumped back, but soon his curiosity took over and he reached out to again touch the now running scooter.
My friend and the elderly man agreed that from that time forward when the man would hear the scooter, he should know that my friend was waving “hello” to him, and that if he so desired he could wave a greeting back. Everyday after this exchange when my friend drives his scooter around that corner the elderly man jumps to his feet with a bright smile and waves “hello” with both hands.
Consider how important it is for the elderly man to trust my friend. Without trust he would never have come out of his house to talk. Without trust he would never have agreed to touch the scooter. Without trust, he would have bolted for his house and hid himself away once my friend started the scooter up again. Without trust he never would have believed that my friend was waving a hearty hello to him when the noisy little machine was passing by, and without trust he never would have been inclined to wave a friendly greeting back.
Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of my favorite Bible passages, and trust is at its heart:
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.
Please consider these passages as well and give some thought to the level of trust you presently have in the Lord your Mighty God.
Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8
He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. Psalm 112:7
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. Psalm 37:5
For the word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. Psalm 33:4
The list of scriptures that speak of trusting God is extremely long, but I pray that these few will give you something to think of today, and perhaps give you reason to consider how worthy our Father God is of our trust.
Vern