One of the very first life lessons any parent teaches their child is the importance of looking both ways before crossing a street. It’s a basic lesson every child needs to know to help keep them safe.

For some unknown reason our otherwise incredibly thoughtful, able, obedient oldest child struggled to master this elementary lesson. Over and over again we’d catch him mindlessly beginning to cross a street, or parking lot, without even pausing to look. We felt frustrated, but mostly we felt concerned that by overlooking this basic principle he was forfeiting his safety. And, because he couldn’t master this basic responsibility, we couldn’t give him the added freedoms or independence he desired. Simply put, he had to master the basics before he could move onto to bigger and better things.

As I sat one day pondering and praying about how to handle this with my son, the Lord spoke a profound and unexpected lesson into my heart about a struggle of my own (isn’t that the way with parenting?). The Lord said, “Sarah, trusting me is like looking both ways. I keep asking you to do it to help keep you safe and give you more freedom, but you forget or keep choosing not to and put yourself at more risk.” Whoa.

Trusting God - no, I mean REALLY trusting God, has been a lifelong struggle for me. He’s never, NEVER given me any reason to doubt Him. He’s been faithful in ways I can’t even begin to describe in the space I have here today, and yet - and yet - I withhold. I doubt. Countless times, over and over again, like a concerned parent who desires nothing more than to help train their child to help keep them safe, the Lord speaks to me. Sometimes it’s in a whisper, and other times in a shout like a parent who’s toddler is about to run out in a busy street would yell STOP, he says, “Trust me, trust me, trust me. Will you trust me?”

I mostly understand the root of it, I do. Like many of our stories go, as a child I had a father that felt unsafe and unstable. I felt out of control, so I agreed early in my life that I would cling tightly to anything that put me in control, or at least caused the illusion of being in control. And, somewhere along the line I believed a lie. I believed the lie that God would fail me. I agreed that if (and let’s be honest, the lie promised that WHEN) He did fail me, it would somehow hurt less if I hadn’t trusted Him in the first place (talk about twisting and perverting the gift of guarding your heart – that’s how the Enemy does it though right?).

Despite all of my understanding, and quite frankly years of work on moving through and past it, I still struggle to let go of control. I desperately want to surrender every single morsel of my heart, mind and soul to the Lord, but I still feel myself holding on. It conjures of images of a tiny little girl with her Daddy, a good Daddy, a safe and loving Daddy. There’s something she clenches in her hands, it hers after all, so she clings to it. He reaches out his hand pleading, “Baby girl, please give that to me. I promise I have something better for you.”

I wonder, how many of us forget the basics God has been teaching us for years? How many of us forget or choose to ignore the instruction to trust God, and by doing so put ourselves in unnecessary danger, or at least forfeit some of our peace and freedom?

Is there something in your own life that God is asking you to lay down and trust Him with? Is there something that you’re holding onto too tightly or trying to control in your own strength? Maybe it’s your children, your marriage, finances, or even your health and weight loss journey. Is the Lord speaking to your heart like He is mine? Do you hear Him lovingly asking you, “Will you trust me? Can you give me every part of you?”

If so, I’d like to encourage you with the message God’s been ministering to my own heart. Friends, the words “trust me” are both an instruction and an invitation. Trust me - it’s protective. It’s also a promise. It’s a promise that if we trust Him we will be kept safe. Like a loving parent, God will never stop looking out for us, He won’t give up on teaching us life-lessons even when we’re slow to adopt and apply them. He won’t leave us at the crossroad of a busy intersection and take a chance on whether or not we’ll look both ways. He’ll never leave or forsake us. Today, will you decide with me not to miss out on freedoms Father God wants to give us simply because we haven’t mastered the basics? Today, can we pray what may be the hardest prayer there is, “Lord, your will be done” – can we pray it together in faith? Can we remember that He alone is God and that we are not – that truly we don’t desire THAT much control. Can we offer with whole hearts the things, people, goals or ideas we’ve held onto or tried to control in our own strength? Can we determine to stop at the crossroad with God, look both ways, and walk forward with Him in safety and freedom? Today, when the Lord says, “Will you trust Me?” let’s have the courage to declare, yes, I will trust you Lord.

As I prayed about this, the Lord ministered so deeply to my heart through a song by Sidewalk Prophets. Today friends, it’s my prayer for you (adapted from the song Will You Help Me Find It).

Lord, I don't know where to go from here. I'm finding I can't do this on my own. I don't know where to go from here. As long as I know that You are near, I'm done fighting, I'm finally letting go. I will trust in You. You've never failed before. I will trust in You. If there's a road I should walk help me find it. If I need to be still give me peace for the moment. Whatever Your will, whatever Your will, can You help me find it? I'm giving You fear and You give faith. I’m giving You doubt, You give me grace. For every step I've never been alone. Even when it hurts, You'll have Your way. Even in the valley I will say, with every breath, You've never let me go. I will wait for You. You've never failed before. I will wait for You. I lift my empty hands, come fill me up again. Have Your way my King, I give my all to You. I lift my eyes again, was blind but now I see. Because You are all that I need.