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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
-- Proverbs 3:5-6
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CHRISTIAN LIVING
Do You Trust Me?
By Belinda Elliott
Contributing Writer
CBN.com
– I knew the moment I stepped onto the university grounds that it was where God wanted me to enroll. It was a small school with a beautiful campus in a quaint rural town. Yep, this was it. I could hear that still small voice confirming it.
There was only one problem. The school was more than four hours away from where I lived. I had never been away from home for longer than a couple weeks, and the prospect of packing up my life and leaving friends and family behind was frightening.
After a morning spent touring the campus, meeting the school’s leaders, and listening to God’s voice of confirmation, I made my decision.
I politely told God, “No thanks.”
I just couldn’t do it. The school was too far away.
Of course I didn’t tell my parents about this decision. As far as they knew, my plans were settled and I would be attending there in the fall. I figured I could use the long drive home to determine how I would tell them otherwise.
I never get sleepy when I drive, so you can imagine my surprise when I woke up to find my car careening off the side of the road. The jolt also awakened my father who quickly leaned over from the passenger seat and grabbed the steering wheel.
Being the protective dad that he is, he assumed I would over-correct, and he wanted to prevent it. This resulted in a tug-of-war with the wheel, and we eventually ended up spinning around in the middle of the road. When we finally stopped we were in the opposite lane and facing the opposite direction that we had been going.
Have you ever had one of those moments where things go in slow motion? This incident was one of them for me. As we spun around in the road, I remember looking in the rear view mirror and seeing cars traveling in line behind us. I also remember looking through the windshield and seeing cars coming toward us from the opposite direction. Amazingly, we didn’t hit anyone.
As that thought began to sink in, my dad made me park on the side of the road and get out of the car to examine our tire marks. He wanted to use the opportunity as a teaching moment to explain to me the dynamics of what had happened and why the car moved like it did.
I don’t remember much about his lesson.
What I do remember is climbing into the back seat of the car and starting the rest of the journey home. There was no way I was getting back into the driver’s seat! (Although I would later on in the trip as another one of dad’s teaching moments. “If you don’t drive more today, you will be too scared to drive again later," he said. "You need to drive the rest of the way home.” He was probably right.)
But as I sat in the back seat shaken and upset, my mind raced with terrifying thoughts. How could I have fallen asleep? I never get sleepy when I drive. I could have just killed my entire family! What if one of my parents had been seriously injured? What if we had hit someone else?
That’s when I heard that familiar voice speaking to my heart. It turns out God had a lesson of His own that I was to learn that day.
Very clearly He spoke to me, If I was able to protect you and your family through this, why don’t you trust me to protect you if you move away and attend the school I’ve called you to?
My decision was settled that day. Despite any fear or hesitation that I still felt, I would be attending that small Christian college in North Carolina after all.
As it turns out, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. During my time there I grew more spiritually than during any other period in my life. I developed skills and talents that I never knew I had. I built relationships there that have turned into life-long friendships. And I met the man that I would later marry.
Most importantly, God used my time there to teach me how to fully rely on Him. I experienced many times throughout college when God would call me to trust Him and His will even though I didn’t understand what He was calling me to do.
I learned that His plans for me are good, and I can trust Him with every aspect of my life. I’ve never been disappointed when I’ve followed His leading.
Oh, and about me falling asleep when I drive. We later discovered that my car was leaking carbon monoxide. All three of us in the car had succumbed to the toxic gas. Fortunately, the fact that we all fell asleep prompted us to keep the windows down for the rest of the ride, though we couldn’t have imagined the reason for our sleepiness. It was just further proof of God’s amazing protection.
What is God calling you to do? Have you delayed answering Him because of fear?
God eventually poses this question to all of us: Do you trust me?
How will you answer?
Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Meet Him today.
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