012 - Trust

My husband, Jeff, and I just got back (yesterday) from a trip to our home state of Colorado.

It was a short trip, but it was filled to the brim with sweet time spent with our family and friends. We marveled at the beautiful Rocky Mountains, we visited some of our favorite coffee shops and restaurants, and we moved from place to place without ever having to open our Google Maps apps. It was fantastic.

It was also really tough on us both. This is the first time we had been back in eight months, and in that time, we forgot what it was like to feel comfortable, safe, and at home.

See, it was over a year and a half ago that we first knew God was calling us to leave Colorado and move to Oklahoma. As that plan unfolded and became a reality, we quickly discovered that we didn’t really know why God had called us there; all we knew was that He had. And so, because He asked us to do something, we did it, even before we really understood it.

If I’m honest, I think we thought He would show us that why right away. And as the months wore on and we still didn’t feel as though we knew why God wanted us to be in Oklahoma, our confidence that we made the right decision slowly wore away. And when we went back to Colorado, we wondered entirely if God would ever show us why He had called us away from everything and everyone we know to something new and unknown and really, really hard.

As Jeff and I were talking about this very thing on a drive home from seeing some good friends, God reminded me of the story of Abraham. Abraham was a true man of God, and God promised him that He would do something amazing through him. But before that ever happened, before Abraham really understood what that would be, God called Abraham to obedience. Here’s the verse from Genesis 12:

Now the Lord said to Abram (Abraham’s former name), “Go from your country and your

kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)

I brought this verse up to Jeff, saying, “Maybe God just wants us to trust Him right now, even though we can’t see very much of the road He has us on. God didn’t tell Abraham about the land before He told him to go; He said He would show him. And maybe He’s telling us that, too; that He hasn’t yet shown us, but He will.”

Maybe you’ve found yourself in a similar position recently. Maybe you’ve wondered why you are where you are, or why God is asking you to do something that doesn’t make sense. And no matter how hard you ask Him to show you why, He hasn’t. Could it be that it’s because He wants you to obey before He explains?

Sometimes God shows us only part of the path. And He wants us to trust Him enough to walk down the road even when only a little bit of it is visible or makes sense. We may be missing the why or the what or the how. But He promises to show it to us, if only we have the faith in Him to take the first step.

It’s like those trust-fall exercises that are really popular in middle school. Y’know, where someone stands behind you and you fall backwards into their arms, hoping that they’ll catch you before you hit the ground. But it’s only when you choose to trust the person and lean back to fall that you know that they’re there and they’ll catch you.

Sometimes, God asks us to take a step before we’re able to see if there’s a place for our foot to land. It’s only when we step that we know if there is for sure.

And honestly, it’s not an easy thing to get on board with, because we like to know the answers and have control and understand the whole big-picture before we commit. It’s really hard to walk into a situation blind, and yet that’s exactly what God asks us to do a lot of the time.

When God put that verse in my mind as Jeff and I were talking, I really believe He was reminding me that He’s with us even when it’s hard to see where He’s leading us, and that He has a plan for our lives even when we don’t know what it is. And it might take a really long time before we ever understand.

But until that day comes, until we arrive at the place where God had always planned for us to be, we have to hold tight to the truth that God can see what we can’t, and He has a reason for everything He asks us to do. And He’s good, which means what He asks us to do is for our good and the good of those around us. And when He asks us to do something or go somewhere, He always goes there with us to show us the way.

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Published in the 012 - September 8 issue of TuesdayTribe

Written by Hannah Hladek

Photo by Arūnas Naujokas on Unsplash