Choose trust...

by Elizabeth Stewart

We can't insulate ourselves very long from the hurt, pain, and brokenness in this world can we?  We may be able to forget for a season, a week, a moment, and then we are suddenly reminded of our vulnerability and the fragility of life. All it takes is an unexpected accident, dreaded diagnosis, a job loss, or a horrific news alert and we are forced to face the reality that this world offers us no guarantees of peace, safety or provision.  

A few years ago I took an unexpected tumble down some stairs at a public park.  There were no broken bones but I was a bit cut up and bruised. Worse than the outward scars was the inner realization that I was no longer young and invincible.  I felt fragile and vulnerable.

Three weeks ago I had one of the biggest scares of my life when our second born daughter was hit by a pickup truck while she was out jogging.  Facing the fragility and vulnerability of my child was even harder than facing my own.

This week we all faced, once again, the horrific news of another school shooting.  Over the past several months our nation has been rocked by hurricanes, floods, wildfires, mudslides, turmoil, strife, and even possible nuclear threat. We can't help but realize that even our nation is not invincible.

The way I see it, there are three possible ways to cope with the reality of our vulnerability.

We can just refuse to face it.  We can be like an ostrich and figuratively bury our head in the sand and pretend that the scary stuff "out there" doesn't exist and won't affect our lives in any way. We can bury ourselves in anything that will keep our mind pre-occupied so we don't have to think about it.  We can drug, drink, work, or shop ourselves numb to not deal with it.  There are myriads of ways we try to cope or numb ourselves from what frightens us and to keep ourselves from having to face it.

We can try to control our circumstances. We can drive ourselves to exhaustion trying to prevent our own physical and/or mental decline.  We can spend our whole life preparing for a future for which we have no guarantees. We can prepare for a stock market crash, build as invincible of a house as possible, stock up on reserves of food, prepare for every emergency we can imagine, and insulate and isolate our children from all perceived forms of danger and harm. In other words, we can fail to live our life trying to protect and preserve our life.

OR, we can choose to face the truth that life here on planet earth is a vapor.  We are all fragile human vessels.  We live in a fragile, sin sick world.  That's our reality.  Yes, there are practical common sense things we can do to protect and take care of ourselves and our loved ones.  Ultimately, however, we have to decide if we are going to trust in our own self effort or in some hope that us human beings will one day get our act together, or are we going to put our trust in God at all times, in all situations and circumstance, no matter what we face. When we make a choice to put our trust in God, when we pour out our hearts to Him with all that confuses us, frightens us, or threatens our well being, it's then that we experience the refuge that He is to us. We can rest assured that if there are things He wants us to do and actions He wants us to take that He will give us the wisdom we need to handle it. We come to know with assurance that nothing and no one can separate us from His love. We can be at peace and rest in tumultuous times knowing that He will never leave us or let go of us.  We can face our vulnerability and fragility knowing that He is our shield, strength, and fortress. We don't have to be frightened and intimidated by our vulnerability, because we can trust in God's invincibility. Where we are weak, He is always strong.  When we feel overwhelmed, He always overcomes.  We have a trustworthy Father.  Choosing to trust Him is where we will find our peace, our ability to cope with life's challenges while still enjoying our life, and our victory over fear.

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