All I Have Seen

"All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. "
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have to admit something to you today: The longer you have been living a life surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ, the easier it gets to do it. That means when you are a relatively new Christian, it can be a lot tougher to do things "His way." I think that's why God gives to the new Christian an extra measure of zeal & energy...because they don't yet have the experiences to rely upon when the going gets tough.

But as you make some choices that honor Him, you discover the power of His promise found in 1 Samuel 2:30 (my life verse): "I will honor the one who honors me." You don't do things just for your benefit, but you discover that when you do things for His benefit, there are benefits for you, too!

And you begin to accumulate experience...you know, the ability to come into a tough time, and to look back and say, "I don't know what God is going to do, but He's been faithful to help me before - so I'm going to trust Him again!" So when I come up against the next really trying situation, I remember things like:

• When God gave me a beautiful wife that I don't deserve
• When God gave us children after we thought we couldn't have any
• When God provided a buyer for our house(s) (more than once) before we listed our house(s)
• When God opened up a job opportunity where it seemed none existed
• When God replaced depression & despair with His peace
• When God gave me fresh perspective when I was sure He was being unfair
• When God restored a relationship I thought for sure was over
• When God gave me the capacity to forgive one I thought unforgiveable
• When God forgave me when I felt unforgiveable
• And the list goes on, and on, an on - you get the idea

Now, I'll be the first to agree with you that He doesn't always work this way - sometimes His ways remain completely baffling & mysterious, but, to quote Mr. Emmerson above, "All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." It is my prayer that you will reach this conclusion as well!