1M2L | 'Trust' is More Than a Condom

I got reminded of these stories about how we relate to God in the area of trust. There was once an house on fire. Firemen were trying to subdue the fire; all the members of the family were out already except for the youngest son who was trapped in the balcony of the second level. Everyone was confused to know that the youngest son was trapped. The  kid kept on crying and shouting to his dad if he could save him. His dad said, “Jump now, I’ll catch you!” the son said kept on crying “I’m afraid I can’t jump, I can’t see you!” now smoke was all over the building and it’s only minutes away before the house collapse. His dad kept on shouting “Jump now!” “Jump now!” the child now gasping for air, still crying, “I can’t see you!” the dad said, “It doesn’t matter! I SEE YOU!” “Now, Jump!" The kid jumped over the balcony without any idea where he will land but holding on to his dad’s promise to catch him. His dad knows where exactly he’s gonna fall and so he got him. safely . The kid cried and cried clinging onto his dad. “It’s ok, I told I’ll catch you!”

The other is quite a funny story. A very strong flood devastated a city and a survivor was left standing on top of a submerged SUV while the flood is still increasing it’s height. The survivor, Christian as he was, prayed to God for help. A swimmer athlete came and asked him to ride on his back as they would swim to the other side of the flooded street where it is safer. The survivor declined and prayed harder. Two men came on an improvised raft made of bamboo stakes and asked the survivor to hop in so they can get to the other side, but the survivor declined prayed even harder. He’s now shouting on top of his lungs. Finally a chopper full of other survivors came with its rope ladder hanging down. People were shouting “Hang on to the rope and we’ll pull you up!” the survivor noticed that the chopper was already full with people so he told them to get him on its way back. This time the flood increased and the survivor became a casualty. Christian as he was, he went to heaven and as he came face to face with God, he asked him “I thought you’re gonna save me? Why did you forsake me?” and God said “I did. I sent a swimmer, a raft and even a chopper. You just ignored them all.”

Too often, we say we trust God but do otherwise. It doesn’t make sense. We always talk about faith and hope but easily give in and give up. We hang on to something else that we think will last long and keep us safe. All these come to an end. God is the only entity that won’t end---he actually created ‘existence.’ When we say we trust God, it is necessary to move forward without seeing anything clearly but seeing through our eyes of faith and saying “It’s possible!” I love what ‘Mr. Encouragement,’ Paul of Tarsus wrote to his apprentice, Timothy, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” [2 Timothy 1:7] Timidity in this context is synonymous to fear. It’s comforting to realize that God gives us a spirit of power and not of fear. So next time we feel the urge to be frightened, let’s remember that that feeling doesn’t come from God, it’s from someone else. Fear impairs our decision-making executions. Fear can cause getting burned alive inside a house on fire. Fear causes death. John of Patmos wrote in his first epistle “Perfect love casts out fear..” [1 John 4:18] if we are frightened or if we feel afraid, then it is safe to realize that love isn’t present, something else is. 

We were all given different opportunities as we go along treading this Life Avenue. I even saw one propaganda saying “Don’t say you didn’t know!” and another asking “What are you gonna tell your grandkids if they ask you what you did with your life?” “Are you gonna make excuses or are you gonna describe to them how you strategically positioned yourself?”

Day 6. Holding on to the right levers, God’s Levers. As we go about living this entire month, My hope and my prayer is that we learn to cling on to God’s safety handle bars with trust, confidence and hope expecting that He’s gonna hold us dearly with His ‘Grip of Grace.’