Trust is spelt R E S T...

       R E S T. Such a short, four-letter word and yet so powerful. Now when we speak of rest we may think of relaxing, taking a load off, as some might say; sitting reading a book, watching t.v. or doing something that is not stressful but enjoyable. In the context of our relationship with God it can be the same or it can mean TRUST, another short, yet powerful word. It's one of the hardest things we can attempt to do. We ask it of others but we ourselves find it so hard to do.
       Recently, I had the opportunity to exercise that trust. Actually, every day there are opportunities to exercise trust. But on this particular day, it was a situation that really required trust for me. You see, I'm afraid of spiders. No, not the nice small ones you see in the bathroom or on cobwebs in a corner somewhere. I'm speaking about the ones that in my opinion are way too big to hold on a cobweb. They're not as thick as a tarantula - and I'm afraid of those too - but they're close enough. Well, this one decided to position itself on the wall over my children's bed. From a distance it just looked huge, as large as my hand. Well, fear immediately stepped in at the sight of it but I had to remain calm - for the children's sake of course. My husband was not at home and I chose not to be a hero and try to take it out myself. So, I prayed and hoped that it would remain where it was, within view because I needed to be able to see and know exactly where it was so that when my husband got home he could kill it.
       Somewhere along the line, however, I decided to just rest in God and trust Him to work it out. Oh, my fear was real. We are all afraid of things at times, but I simply decided to just let God handle it. At that point I became and felt free as I rested in Him. I did not waste time fearful and stressed, instead I rested in God and got my work done. When my husband finally got home and killed it, I had not wasted precious time and energy in fear. I knew God understood my fear, but as I rested in Him, I also knew He would work it out. Couple that experience with a request from a friend that same evening to do something for her that I did not have the confidence to handle. That too I placed in God's capable hands and the next day it all worked out beautifully.
       These two situations caught my attention because I actually felt the peace of God and found myself just resting in Him, trusting that He would work it all out. Philippians 4:6 says, "Be anxious for nothing . . ." In other words, don't worry about anything, God's got it. Whether it's a seemingly foolish fear or something much bigger, God's still got it. As a child of God, our life is in His hands . . . and those hands are very big and very able. So, don't worry, don't even worry about whether or not it will work out the way you want it to; just know that it will work out the best way HE wants it to.

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