The Hammock of Trust
"Did you think it would be easy? Listen, with every task you are given by Me, there will be trials and difficulties. These are meant to teach you to lean on Me--not do things on your own but in concert with Me. Too many times, you want to give up right on the edge of the completion and success of the task. If you could see what I see, you would take those times of extreme exhaustion and press in harder. One last push. Stop trying to go it alone--get in timing with Me. One step ahead or one step behind is not where you belong--it's not where the promises are fulfilled. Walk WITH Me. Trust Me when I tell you I am here and I will never leave you.
You are not responsible for anyone's dedication and prayer life but your own. See that you remember that. It's your time, freely given, anticipating My every word that I desire to walk into and work through."
One morning, towards the end of December 2024, I prayed and waited in my quiet time with God. When I pause "my" busyness and fully devote and give myself to Him, I can hear the gentleness of His presence. When all distractions have ceased and He has my full and undivided attention, He enters the room, sits across from me, and I listen. No, I don't "see" Him, I sense Him.
The morning that I heard the first sentence come to me in my spirit, I knew I was about to hear more--if I would pause and wait. He wants us to PAUSE. He loves it when you and I lay down our phones or whatever apparatus seemingly attached to our hand and hold His instead. Listen in the pause. There is a sign of trust in the pause.
If you have children who seem to be clamoring for your attention, all speaking at once--or even crying at once- it becomes overwhelming to the parent. Often, parents match their volume and even hit it an octave higher. What does that accomplish? Nothing. (Been there--done that.)
What if we crouched down to their eye level, calmly said, "line up, one at a time," whispered our tone, and listened to them? What do you think would occur?
It's the whisper I hear from God. When I have seemingly cried my eyes out over a situation, and it feels like I've gotten nowhere, with a bunched-up wad of Kleenex, swollen eyes and a stopped up nose, I pause. I sit in silence and wait. There's trust in the wait. Guess what happens?
Soft whispers from the Word of God as I cradle my Bible in my lap--I am directed to passage after passage of Scripture where He shows me how He led the children of Israel out of captivity, how He was their cloud by day and fire by night. He shows me how He used a young virgin to bring the greatest gift of all to a world in deep need for a Savior. He directs me to see how He forgave Peter for denying Him--and later He showed "doubting" Thomas the wounds of the world on His hands.
It's in those moments when I hear Him. But... I also hear Him in my spirit. Words flood my mind and heart- coming in so fast it's hard to keep up, to get them scribbled on paper to later record legibly in my prayer journal. That's how this came to be. Flooding words scribbled. Tears falling, and reminders given. Trust Him.
I have caught myself more times than I care to admit, trusting in the wrong things. Nothing in this life is certain nor permanent, save our Father in Heaven: Jesus, His Son, and the Promised Gift of help and hope, The Holy Spirit.
Tuesday of this week, as I was reading a passage of Scripture, I drew a curved line under words, connecting two words in the sentence. As I looked at the curved line, which was meant to just be an underscore, I saw something very unique: a hammock. I know. Now, you are wondering what was in my 4:00 coffee. Creamer.
Let me describe the picture I saw: Trust is a hammock. Tied off between two strong-sturdy-unbending trees or posts. Trust is the place I run to when life is overwhelming.
Life hard today? There's a hammock stretched out, swaying slightly as the wind blows. Take yourself down to that spot on the sunny beach--hear the lullaby of the waves as they take turns washing off the prints from the day before. It never stops. They slow down on super still days, and they speed up during storms, but they never stop meeting the shores.
The shoreline remains--the waves affect it continually...but there is always a shoreline.
Do you see my "hammock"? Tied off between the current problem and God's solution, there's a space where I can decide: Am I going to worry and fret? Or, am I going to sit down, lean back and relax in that space between giving it to God and waiting for His answer....
God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 NLT
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