In God, We Trust

Allow me to start with a disclaimer. I am not writing this to make you feel sorry for me or my wife, Suzanne. I am not writing this seeking any kind of help, except for prayer. I have no—and I mean no—ulterior motive. I am writing this in hopes it will encourage and allow those who read it to know all of us go through times of trials while we are on this journey called life.

Now my story: it is one many of you will understand because you have experienced similar life circumstances. Allow me to start by saying the last few months have really been difficult for Suzanne and me. At the end of March, we were notified by our bank that someone had broken into our checking account and attempted to steal money. In response, we went to the bank to see what needed to be done. They said we needed to close our account that we had had for over twenty years. They would give us a new account with a new number.

We were satisfied with that, so we took our new checks and went home. Two weeks later we found out the same people had gone into our account and taken a few hundred dollars. That resulted in us having to go through the same process again, just two weeks from when we got the new account.

You can imagine how frustrating this is for us. This time the bank froze the account, and we can’t withdraw money unless we go to the bank and get it directly from our account. We can’t use our debit card; we can’t write a check; it’s really a lot of fun.

Now we had accepted this and settled into the new arrangement until we could get the situation resolved. We said, “Well, this is the way it’s going to be for about two weeks. We must adjust.” We accepted our fate and went on with our daily lives (which, believe me, can be really, really exciting). Then the storms came.

On the night of Friday, April 25, our area (suburban Atlanta) experienced some severe storms. The next morning, we found the storm had caused a large tree to fall on our car. The car was totaled—gone, finished. We can’t drive it. It’s of no use anymore. It was a 2002 so we aren’t going to get much for it, but, thankfully, we have a truck.

Let’s take stock of where we are: our bank account is frozen, the car is totaled by a tree, and, to top it off, we have a lizard that is trying to move into our house. I think the Beach Boys summed it best when they sang, “We’ll have fun, fun, fun.” Now add to this just the daily pressures that come from life and we were about as happy as we were the day we got married (that was sarcasm if you didn’t catch it.)

We haven’t seen how this will all play out, but we know it will be okay. We have a Father who will take care of us.

Let me share my first thoughts with you. The first thing I remembered was a story I heard Preacher Clarence Greenleaf tell years ago.

Sometime in the 1960s, Brother Greenleaf had surgery. He had no insurance of any kind. The bill arrived and it was nearly $8,000. Now remember this was sometime in the 1960s, and $8,000 was a lot more money than it is today. Brother Greenleaf started to laugh. His wife asked him, “Clarence, how can you laugh? That is a large bill, and we don’t have insurance, and we don’t have that kind of money.” Brother Greenleaf replied, “It’s just going to be fun watching how God gets this bill paid.” His bill was paid. God is good.

When I remembered this, I recalled this verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, NASB). The first part of that verse resounded in my mind and soul: Trust in the Lord.

I have a bad habit of letting my problems get me down. If I’m not careful, I can feel sorry for myself. Then I remember the words of the apostle Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, NASB). I also recall these words, also from the apostle Paul, “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

God wants us to trust Him to help in times of trouble. He wants us to depend on Him for an answer and a solution. Yes, we should help ourselves as well. “Faith without works is dead,” James tells us (James 2:26). However, we need to trust that God will take care of our troubles and problems. He will help us find a solution. It is hard sometimes to just “let go” and let God work, but this is what He wants us to do.

Peter reassures us when times are bad and scary we should trust in God because He made us this promise: “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (2 Peter 5:7, KJV).

When the money is tight, trust God. When your health is breaking, trust God. When you lose your job, trust God. When things at church aren’t going so well, trust God. God has never let any of His children down. He is not about to start with you.[TP1]