Good morning…
“On the pavement, mid-stride, I saw a tattered, blackened penny,” explained our post from yesterday. “I picked it up and looked at the ugly, messy coin. I knew that somewhere the penny read, “In God We Trust,” but I could not see this truth clearly. I thought to myself, “This is exactly what my friend is feeling. Her trust in God has been obscured by the overwhelming complexities of life.”
“Good morning Sue,” another vulnerable reader soon wrote, “your post today spoke to my own trust insecurity. I know what we’ve been taught and told to do but it feels hard to pray over and over for something and feel like nothing happens. My good friend told me that my ‘trust muscles are getting a workout and it hurts.’ I would agree…the negative part of my brain wonders why I should continue to ask/pray if it seems clear that God doesn’t have my request in His plan. It’s hard….”
“It is hard. Very hard,” I replied. “As our trust muscles get a painful workout, day after day, I think God strengths us to walk joyfully and courageously into plans that are abundantly more life-giving than we could ever imagine.”
“Praying without seeing any tangible evidence of God listening and attending to our deepest desires reminds me of a baby chick,” I explained. “The tiny little creature pecks over 10,000 times, making intimate contact with the protective shell, before being released into the larger world. In the perfect moment, the egg cracks open and the chick emerges with a neck strong enough to hold up its head. If the egg would be manually opened by an impatient person trying to speed up the process, the chick would not have the muscle strength to hold up its head and the baby bird would die, never growing up into the beautiful creature God so intricately designed.”
“Ugh,” she responded. “I adore that you sent me this. The visual is perfect and so helpful. I will hold on to this analogy.”
We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously (1 Corinthians 10:13, TPT).
…Sue…
P.S. Our son, Jeremiah, has worked hard at his pressure washing business this summer. With one week left before he returns to the University of Georgia for his sophomore year, please text him directly (404-747-4971) with your pressure washing needs.
