I've been keeping journals since I was in the 3rd grade and I'm so glad to share some of my most intimate life moments with you here!  Here, you'll find inspirational and encouraging stories of me and other broken people like me. We are all jars of clay who have been afflicted in every way, but not crushed...struck down by not destroyed.  Here, you do NOT have the right to remain silent, so as you read, grab your favorite snack and drink and leave a comment...share YOUR story. I can't wait to connect with you in this beautiful safe space. 

welcome to my

journal!

xoxoxoxoxo,
Sachel 

Life Behind My Lens

June 30, 2013

Trust

 

Scenery

Trust. This is something that has been on my mind for quite some time. Every morning on my way to work, I listen to a series of Gospel songs. It helps to wake my spirit up and puts me in a good mood. This morning I was listening and the last song that came on was Donnie McClurkin’s “I will Trust You Lord (Live)” from his Live in London album. At the beginning of the song, he asks “What if you call Me and don’t feel me near? Will you trust me” “What if tell you to let go of the very thing you think you have to hold? Will you trust me? ” “What if it costs my life?” When we’re caught in the spirit and the environment of church, it’s really for us to say “Yes Lord, I will trust you.” But do you really? On a random Thursday, if God told you to let go of something you cherished dearly, would you REALLY trust Him?

 

To trust someone is a very serious matter. Trust is defined as “a person on whom or thing on WHICH one relies; reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc. of a person or thing; to have a COMPLETE confident expectation of something; hope.” It is not something that you can straddle the fence on. When it comes to God, you either trust Him or you don’t. Too many times we often think “I’ll trust you on some things, but this other stuff over here? Oh I got it.” Straddling the fence or not giving complete trust over to God is pretty much telling Him, that we don’t think He’s capable and able to lead us the way we want to be led. But here is the kicker: God knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows what’s best for us before we can can. Too often we as humans, especially us as women try to see beyond the scope of our vision. “When will he propose? When will I have children? When will I get that promotion? When will I get out of this cycle of poverty?” “What do I need to do to get out of this hell I’m in?” But see that’s the thing about God. Though our vision is limited to what we can see in front of us, He sees the bigger picture. If we TRUST him enough to give Him complete control and let Him take the reigns, we can fully reap the harvest we’re so desperately craving.

 

One of the women I look up to the most is one I’ve never met. Though I’ve never laid eyes on her, the story of Ruth is one find myself reading over and over again. Her story is one of faithfulness, determination and TRUST. Trust that God will give her the desires of her heart if she merely TRUSTS Him. In a condensed version of the story, Ruth married one of the sons of Naomi, who comes from a different tribe from her. When both of Naomi’s sons dies, she tells both of her daughter-in-laws to return to their home lands. While the other daughter-in-law leaves, Ruth chooses to stay. When Naomi tells her to leave, Ruth says something that sticks with me always:

 

“Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back, for wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and where there I will be buried. The Lord do so to me and more also, if anything by death will part me from you.”

 

In these powerful two verses, Ruth shows a type of trust I find myself sometimes envying. She decides to completely give herself to God and allows God to lead her… beyond what anyone else sees. And it pays off. Ruth shows her faithfulness, serves in the fields and God blesses her by giving her a new husband (Boaz), a son (Oben) and a privileged position in the lineage of David and Christ as she becomes the great-grandmother of Davis. To think about that is mind-blowing. Here is a woman whose husband died. Yet in her darkest days, she chose to continue to trust God. Instead of going back to her birth land and taking control of her own destiny, she trusted God to never fail her and CHOSE to trust Him. To say we completely trust God is one thing. To ACTUALLY COMPLETELY TRUST GOD…is a different story within itself. It all comes down to choice. God may want us to trust Him, but because God is a loving God, He gives us free will. He gives us the choice to trust Him. Truth be told, deep down inside….we like control. We like being in control of our own lives; the captain of our own ship. But realize, in order for us to achieve our destiny, our calling and purpose, we must surrender. We must allow Him to lead us….especially when we can’t see where we’re going and we have more questions than we do answers.

 

As a young woman, I am quite driven. I crave a lot of things and want to accomplish a lot of things. One of those things is being married. I crave it. I think about it constantly. I’m at an age where my mind, body, soul and spirit am ready to start a family with the man I love. Or at least, that’s what I think. With each passing day, I find myself thinking “WHEN? WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG? WHY?” But the love of my life said something to me recently that made me take a step back and pause. He said “Why are you worried about the future? Enjoy the journey and find peace in knowing that God’s will WILL be done.” And I realized, that’s all trust is. Sitting back, enjoying the journey and giving God my complete confidence in His integrity, strength and ability. No matter how hard the road may seem, in my sadness and troubled times, trusting Him is necessary. It is imperative to our existence in Him. Sisters, I pray that we all live a life like Ruth and give Him our all. If we can trust a man with everything we have with no real consolation that they will hurt us or leave us broken, why can’t we trust The One who has never failed, faltered or left us behind with everything we have?

 

We have no excuses. We just have to do it. And it starts with a relationship with Him. Do you have one? If not, hakuna matata. It’s really simple. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth and TRUST that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of the father, you are saved.

 

I know that life is rough. No life is a crystal stair and none of us live the life of fairy tales. But if we trust in Him, I can guarantee you, not only will our lives will never be the same, but it will bring us a greater reward than we can ever picture for ourselves.

 

Let’s be Bold and dare to trust Him with everything. Totally. Completely.

 

 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo,

 

SACHEL SAMONE

Reply...