ON THE VANGUARD

LEARNING TO TRUST
Be patient for the LORD and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
Psalm 37:34

Growing up I was not allowed to listen to music that wasn't Christian. Now of course I had a few tapes that mom didn't know about, but for the most part I obeyed the rules. So I grew up with my favorites, like Crumbacher, Steven Curtis Chapman, Kim Boyce, and David Meece. The thing I loved about David Meece's music, however, was that he took classic Bach and Chopin and mixed it with his own style and lyrics. He had his share of ballads too, and in these I found a source of strength and encouragment. One such song was Learning to Trust.
The chorus of this song reads:
-(That's why I'm) Learning to trust in you
-In everything I do
-Learning to trust in you
-Cause I know in my heart that your true
-I'm learning to trust in you
-But sometimes it's so hard to do
Why is it so hard to trust God? Look at the Fathers of the Faith. Abraham believed God would give him a nation and yet didn't have a child till he was 86 years old. And even then, this was not the chosen child. Isaac wasn't even born for another 14 years. Abraham had faith that God would keep His word. He learned to trust in God.
What about Joseph and his dreams? God gave him dreams when he was still young and yet family didn't even believe him. When he shared his dreams of grain bowing down, they called him crazy. Yet Joseph knew these dreams were from God. Thrown in prison for a crime he did not commit, he did not lose faith. He learned to trust in God. When the time was right, God elevated him from a prison to a place of authority.
Moses also learned to trust in God. In Exodus 3:10 God tells Moses that he has been chosen to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and bring them to the land of milk and honey. Sure, Moses made the excuses but still went on this wild ride with God and had to trust in Him at every step. The promise was real, and the Promised Land was reached.
I was inspired this week by the word WAIT. I have looking up verses in the Bible that speak about waiting and patience, and found Psalm 37:34. Be patient for the Lord and keep his way. With Abraham, we see that Ishmael was born first, but was not God's decision. Abraham took matters into his own hands instead of waiting on God. I have made the mistake myself many times rushing into something that is not God's number one decision. Thank God for grace and forgiveness, but if I had been patient and trusted God, the mistake would not have been made.
He will exalt you to inherit the land. God has a reward for us, but cannot give it to us until the time is right, so we must be patient and obey. Joseph saw this firsthand. He didn't try to break out of jail, or try to squeeze into leadership. God promoted within the jail, and later outside of jail. God allowed Joseph to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Can you imagine what Moses saw when he looked back and watched the Red Sea wash away the Egyptians chasing him? He trusted God and extended his staff over the water, and God came through. And it is no different for us. We too will see God's deliverance.
But the whole verse, the whole story, the whole lesson starts with a single word...WAIT. It is so hard to do, but the benefit is so rewarding. It is just like in pregnancy. A couple waits nine months for their child to be born, but the reward of that child is great. So it with us. God has a reward for us, and we want it so badly, but is the time right? Are we being asked to wait? And if we are, are we kicking and screaming about the wait, or are we trusting that the wait will be worth it all in the end? Only you can answer that. As for me, I have decided that I will learn to trust.