Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This is a quote that comes to mind whenever we think about trust. It does not define trust and how to obtain it. It only declares that trusting God is a better option than trusting our own understanding.

Consider for a moment the issue of straight paths. The shortest distance between any two points is a straight line and taking any other path is nothing but a waste of time. Just how valuable is time? When we are young we take it for granted. At old age it means different things to different people. There are some who cling to it as something dear to them while others are worn and weary and look forward to an end. What time means to you is a personal matter and no one should tell you how to feel about it.

Genesis 12:1

The Call of Abram

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Abram, who later became Abraham, is declared to be that father of faith for three major religions. This is the first communication between the Lord and Abram. He was told to leave his country, family, and his father’s house for a place that was not identified.

Who goes on a journey without knowing the destination?

Genesis 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

The Lord made a promise to Abram and the hope of that promise was enough for Abram to take that first step of faith, to go when he was led by only a voice. There was no indication that the Lord showed His face to Abram.

So why did Abram trust this faceless voice?

His hope was in the promise.

Are the promises of God enough to cause us to trust God?

Now comes the dilemma for all the lost souls God is reaching out to save.

Who will tell them of His promises?

Isaiah 38:17 Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

If it had not been for the gall of bitterness, I would not have sought to be delivered. With all honesty, I was not aware of God’s love for me at first. All I knew was despair, pain, and a path leading to loneliness.

It was not until later, while on the path with Jesus that He showed me how great the Father’s love was for me.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

I had heard those words but it did not seem personal for God loved the world, not just me. Then as I walked with Jesus, He showed me the love of the Father.

Luke 24:32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Only when I walked in “The Way” with Jesus did my heart begin to yearn for Him. Only then did I learn of the Father’s love for me and just how personal that love could be.

A newborn feels the love of the mother long before it learns speech. The same is for those of us that are born again. We feel it even before we learn the language of the Spirit.

I do believe there are some who knew His love and came to Him. That was not my experience. I had a life I left behind. Perhaps a few out there were lucky enough to come to Jesus in innocence and do not have an ugly past. God blessed them in a different way than He has blessed me.

I left that other life behind.

When you love God that is what you do, make a new life with Him.