Clarity or Trust?

First, a warm (or should I say cool because it is 90 degrees at 11pm and 65% humidity) hearted thanks to Shari G for sending us the DVD of a session Jason Upton held in Wasilla this past May. We wanted to be there, but God had us here in KC too fast.

Rachel and I just finished watching the message. There is so much about the style Jason has when speaking, but bottom line (thats the accountant in me) is the fact that Jason does not hold back, sugar coat, beat around the bush or make us where chest waders to wade through the crap dished out from the pulpit. and I for one LOVE IT.

In this message he said A LOT of great things, but one particular bit jumped out at me. I knew right away why I havent been blogging and what I have been searching for in my prayers. It is the issue of clarity vs. trust. Sorta like walking up from the riverbank with your stringer full of salmon. You need both clarity and trust. Clarity to understand you may have an unwelcomed lunch guest, and the trust that God will keep you safe.

Jason told of a story that is found in a book called Ruthless Trust (my apologies to the author whom I dont remember the name). The author goes to see Mother Theresa and asks her to pray for clarity in his life. She declines. The fella is aggrivated by this because surely of all people, Mother Theresa had clarity in her life and what is the harm in praying that over someone else. The catch was, as she told the gentleman, that in fact, she had no clarity. God never told her what she would be doing at any given time or next month etc. I have been saying this in my own life for a couple years now. I have told people that when I try to lock some big thing into my schedule I can promise that God will not allow it. The kids will get sick, or I will, or some superceding event will take place to shatter the schedule.

The longing for clarity comes from the striving from within our hearts and spirits to know what is coming down the pipe for us in our lives. Trust is letting go of that struggle and letting God meet our needs and see our destiny fulfilled. Trust is also eternal when talking about God. We can always trust God.

The Bible is full of stories of kings who went to great lengths to build up their kingdoms. Over and over again the Bible tells us that these same kings also lost it all because they were trying to fulfill their will and not God's. We have to trust in God to meet our needs. It is amazing to me how inense the struggle to let go is. I know that when we tithe, God promises to meet our needs. God is not a God that lies, so why then is it so hard to quit striving and let him do his work? I think there are about 100 sermons that come out of this paragraph, but for now, I let it go :0)

Rachel and I are at this point. We have been there for many months now. We have been trusting in God in increasing levels since well before our leaving Fairbanks. Now as we settle into our positions at IHOP we have no choice but to trust in God to meet our needs. We wouldnt have it any other way.