I am an organizer. I like to sit down and plan all the little details of a project or a vacation. Maybe part of the reason for my desire for order is a need to be in control. Writing those lists of steps makes me feel ready to begin an undertaking, while just jumping into the activity seems too frightening without those boundaries written down in black and white.
The weekly Bible study group that meets at our house each week is doing a study on prayer. One of the aspects we discussed last week was having "childlike faith". I began to think about what childlike faith really looks like in real life.
When I was a child, our family was fortunate enough to take many trips - most of them in an RV to various state and national parks. Whether the trip was a weekend in a campground an hour away from the house or a two-week vacation to the American West, my parents always had full responsibility for preparing for the big expedition.
Mom and Dad would tell us that we were going somewhere on a specific date and then my sister and I just went about our normal childhood lives until the day it was time to leave and then we'd jump in the back seat of the car and just go. I don't recall ever asking my parents if they had a map of the route (pre-GPS) or if they had cashed a check for expenses (pre-ATM) or if they had packed enough clothes for me to wear. I didn't worry about the logistics of dealing with four people and a dog and all their needs. I didn't fret about the itinerary or the car or RV maintenance or tickets to any attractions we'd visit. I was just a passenger in a vehicle that would ultimately take me to my desired destination. I believed the promise of my parents and I just trusted that everything would go well.
How many times in my own life have I worried and wondered about how God would take care of a situation? How many times did I despair in financial need because I could not imagine how in the world He would bring the provision to me? Just because I can't see the planning He does behind the scenes does not mean He isn't using His own divine strategy to bring about a result that is far superior to my earthly solutions.
If you have a problem with your vehicle and you take it to the shop, you don't go back every morning to drive it around to see if you can pinpoint the trouble. You leave it in the hands of the repairman who has the knowledge, tools, and expertise to diagnose the problem and restore the car to working condition. Taking it out of the shop's hands every day just delays the resolution and potentially could cause more damage to your car.
When you take a situation to God, you have to leave it with Him. If you keep taking it back to worry and strategize and fuss with it, you aren't giving Him the time to solve it and you could be causing more harm to yourself and others when you don't trust His plan.
I don't claim to understand God's ways or His timing or His reasons for doing what He does. I only know that in those situations where I can back off and give Him complete control, He brings about the right answer at the right time. I don't have to sweat the details - I can leave them in His hands.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
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