Trust (noun). Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

Faith (noun). Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

I don’t know about you, but I have struggled with trusting God. I mean the truly trusting, ‘I can’t see where you are leading me but I trust you know where you are going’ kind of trust. The kind of trust that propels us forward when everything inside us is screaming that we are idiots if we don’t turn back now. Like the trust Indiana Jones demonstrated when he had to take that unforgettable leap of faith to save his dad’s life in The Last Crusade:

There have been many times during our journey to Senegal over the past 8 months where I have felt exactly like Indiana when he took that first crucial step-choosing to believe that he wouldn’t fall to his death but would be safe if he followed the map. When we first felt God leading us in the direction of becoming full-time missionaries in Africa, our minds wanted to run back to the safety of the ledge. We came to more fully realize that staying on the ledge would be playing it safe though. Over time, we decided we wanted to take the risk of trusting in God. We understood that in our new future, we could only see darkness and uncertainty, but God could see our future and knew what waited for us there. Trusting in the One who is greater, we took that first crucial leap of faith and found that God had laid a solid path before us and we could trust His plan.

So now, every time a doubt or fear enters my mind, I meditate upon Proverbs 3:5-6 that says, “Trust in The Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

My prayer for you is that in whatever situation you find yourself that your trust in God grows deeper and you make that decision to take a leap of faith toward the future that He has planned for you.

Image courtesy of Orin Zebest and can be found on Flickr.