Lessons in Trust - Part 1

Intro:
Years ago, Monroe Parker was traveling through South Alabama on one of those hot, sultry Alabama days. He stopped at a watermelon stand, picked out a watermelon, and asked the proprietor how much it cost. "It's $1.10," he replied. Parker dug into his pocket, found only a bill and said, "All I have is a dollar."

"That's ok," the proprietor said, "I'll trust you for it."

"Well, that's mighty nice of you," Parker responded, and picking up the watermelon, started to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" the man behind the counter demanded.

"I'm going outside to eat my watermelon." "But you forgot to give me the dollar!

"You said you would trust me for it," Parker called back.

"Yeah, but I meant I would trust you for the dime!"

"Mack," Parker replied, "You were't going to trust me at all. You were just going to take a ten-cent gamble on my integrity!"

Haddon Robinson.

Read:
Proverbs 3:5-10

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.
10 Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with good wine.


Think:
Can you relate to the story at the beginning? Do you sense that sometimes we trust God for a "dollars" worth of issues but keep the "dimes" for ourselves? I do that. It is easy to trust God with the big stuff (the dollar worth) like salvation, acceptance, the filling of the Holy Spirit, etc. But sometimes it is so hard to trust God with the little stuff (the dime worth) like relationships with friends and family, enough money to make it through month, job situations, etc.

I heard someone once say, "Why pray when you can worry?". Though it is funny it is no less true! It is so easy to worry and not pray.

Proverbs enters the world of worry with some strage words. TRUST. Trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

The call is for childlike response to the situations we find oursleves in. Easier said than done. God calls us to trust Him when we lose our job. God calls us to trust Him when our reputation is being drug through the mud. God calls us to trust Him when we have a wayward child.

The call is for trust in a person. We are to trust the Lord. Not our circumstances or our efforts. We are to trust the One that would die to be with us. That would always give us what is best for us. The One that has answered the prayers we often forget to pray. The one that is with us when we get that diagnosis.

The call is for a reckless abandon to this Lord. We are to trust Him with all our hearts. That is the seat of emotion. That is where passion comes from. That is me when no one is looking. God wants it all.

The call is for uncommon sense. Yes, uncommon sense. We are called to trust the Lord and not our own limited understanding. We are not to lean on this. That implies that this is a comfortable and even natural posture for us to take. We are trained to lean on our own understanding. The call is for us to lean on God. This is often not in line with common sense. It requires waiting and watching.

Can you trust God with the "dime" worth of your life today?

Do:
It strikes me that one of the key indicators that I am trusting the Lord is prayer. If I am trusting then I am waiting. If I am trusting then I am watching. If I am trusting then I am expecting. If I am trusting then I am praying.

If your prayers were heard over a loudspeaker would they show that you are trusting the Lord?

What are you anxious about today? Have you taken it to the Lord and left it there? He will bear both you and your burden. He will take care of the dollar and the dime. You can trust Him for it.

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