Years ago my friends and I were driving south on PCH in Calfornia. We were on spring break from college and driving from San Francisco to LA. We planned our trip to sightsee, and this particular night our destination was the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, and we were on the stretch of PCH that is basically at the edge of a cliff. There is also the part that goes over a high bridge. I was driving while it was pitch dark. It was late at night, and I remember worrying that if I made one wrong move, I would have driven us off the cliff.
Have you ever felt like you are following where He leads but the path is almost pitch black? I think back on that drive now, and reflect on how often my faith feels like that. I can’t see more than a few feet in front of me. If I move too quickly, I will lose my way. And I get caught up in the thoughts of wondering if what He has before me is good.
Will I ever get to my destination? Will He really lead me to what is good? Is His word true?
Doubts come, and sometimes way too easily.
Did I make the wrong decision? Did I hear God wrong? Is He who He says He is? Those thoughts can be crippling. Fears can be overwhelming. One wrong move and you may fall off the cliff into oblivion.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when my friend was praying for me. Although she never knew about this trip to California, she actually referenced it while praying for me. She said that there were train tracks on the road and that between the tracks was the word “trust.”
Photo by Marko Mudrinic on UnsplashI was reading in 1 Thessalonians the other day and a few words stuck out to me from the page. “Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.” I love Paul’s desire to encourage the church, but last 6 words got me thinking about what fills the gaps in someone’s faith?
I know the feeling all too well of having those gaps. Doubts, fears, insecurities, and lies. I began to think of my friend’s prayer over me, and the tracks on the road. What filled the space between the tracks was the word “trust.”
What fills the gaps of faith? Trust.
Faith is a beautiful thing, but sometimes faith is difficult because we are choosing to believe in something that we cannot yet see. And even though Hebrews 11:1 encourages us that faith gives us assurance about the things that we cannot see, sometimes there are gaps in our faith. Sometimes I have a hard time believing God will do what He says He will do. I can even doubt that faith the size of a mustard seed will really move my mountains.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Psalm 3:5
This verse was sent to me this week, and it couldn’t have come in more perfect timing. I have been on a trust walk with God over the past year, but more so the past few months. This week though, the gaps in the faith showed up. Doubts, insecurities, fears. What am I doing?
I have had to keep going back to trust.
I don’t have to see the way to follow Him because I can trust. Trust that He sees the way, even when I don’t. Trust that He is good, and trust that His ways are perfect.
I can have confident trust in who God is, because of who He is.
I want to go back to that drive down PCH quickly. As I mentioned, it was dark, and we could barely see what was in front of us. But we ended up making it to our destination. And the next morning the sun rose to show us the beauty that was around us.
When I trust, I have the confident reliance on who God is, and not what He can do. I can be assured of His strength, and His truth, even when I cannot see.
The darkness doesn’t last forever when we trust. Joy comes in the morning, as surely as the sun rises. I can know that He will guide me to the destination He has ahead of me as I follow.
In what areas of your life do you need trust to fill the gaps in your faith?
