We Can Trust

Fall is here!

There is a lot of fear and anger in our world right now. Some people think our country will not last. Some fear anarchy will continue.For a lot of you, the violence has not affected you. You don’t live downtown of City, USA. But you see it in the news.

This morning, I read my Bible which is my normal course of action each morning. It was comforting to me. First, I read in Isaiah that God is above all: Only I can tell what is going to happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.” (Isaiah 46:10). Does that mean we give up and let “whatever happens will happen”? Do we know? No, but we do our due diligence. Study the circumstances. Bring our fears and unknown future to the God who knows.

Then I read in the Epistle to Ephesians, …there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us and living through us all (Ephesians 4:5b).

And finally, I read in the Psalms–and I must confess this gave me the most hope and security, Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms (Psalm 69:19).

That did it for me. I realize (1) God is God and what He does will happen. I don’t have control over the future. He does. That means (2)God–the only God is over all. And best of all, (3) He carries us in his arms.

That might sound simplistic, but I don’t think so. We can trust the One who made our earth. Made us. That doesn’t mean we stop living. Stop being aware of our world. We must still be aware of the election that is only a month or so away.We should prayerfully consider each candidate and what issues they stand for. Let others over whom we might have influence aware of those issues. Pray. And then, we trust.

Every morning, my husband Jim and I read together in God’s word. We pray and then trade off picking a song to sing. Yesterday’s choice was mine, written by Thomas Kelly (1769-1855) who once was an ordained priest in the Irish Anglican Church. But this church didn’t like his evangelical preaching, so he became a Dissenter and a non-Anglican. He continued to preach and write hymns. Lots of them. Seven-hundred sixty-five. Here’s what we sang:

Praise the Savior, ye who know Him! Who can tell how much we owe Him?

Gladly let us render to Him all we are and have.

Trust in Him, ye saints, forever–He is faithful, changing never;

Neither force nor Gile can sever those He loves from Him.

There are multiple verses, this is just a sampling and it gave us hope as we sang the words to a simple German melody yesterday morning.

My final thoughts for today? We can trust our Maker. We can only do what we’re commanded to do: trust, not knowing the future, and let Him carry us in his arms……Like the shepherd who often carries the lamb.