Are You Trusting?

​I’ve been thinking a lot about the verse. It’s one of my go-to verses when times are hard and I can’t seem to find God working in my life.
 
I know many of you are facing difficult times right now. You’re struggling with health problems, financial issues, family worries, and even the loss of a loved one. Sometimes, it can be hard to hold onto our faith that God is in control – that he knows what we need – that he loves us and has a plan to for our lives.
 
When I’m struggling to understand why God doesn’t make my problems go away right away, I’m reminded of a scene in a book called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Most of you are probably familiar with the book even if you’ve never read it. In the scene I’m thinking of, the main character, Katniss, is desperate to find water in order to survive. She knows she has a coach who can see what’s happening to her and who knows what she needs. He has the ability to send small gifts to help her. But he hasn’t.
 
As Katniss ponders all the reasons her coach might not be helping her, she finally lands on the right one. He doesn’t need to send her water because she has almost reached it on her own. What she needs is already there, she just has to keep going to find it.
 
There are many stories in the Bible where God placed what someone needed close by. Hagar found a well of water when her son was dying of thirst in the wilderness (Genesis 21:14-19). Abraham saw a ram caught in the bushes that he used as a sacrifice instead of his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:9-14). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked into a fiery furnace and came out unharmed because they found God’s messenger there (Daniel 3:19-27).
 
I particularly love that last story. Before those three men walked into the furnace, they knew God would be with them – even if the worst happened. They told Nebuchadnezzar, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).
 
You see, they chose to obey God even when they couldn’t see a way out of their problems. They had faith that God knew how their story should go and they were willing to let him write it, even if it meant God was writing their final page.
 
Are you trusting God with the story of your life? Will you keep moving forward in obedience, confident that he will provide what you need when you need it? Will you trust Him even when it looks like the end of the story is near? This is just the first book, after all. God promises the next one will be amazing!