Shut Up and Trust

 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. Psalm 13:5     
 
I had a dream the other night that involved coming face to face with Jesus.  It probably stemmed from something I heard on the radio earlier in the day about meeting Jesus and thinking about what you would say to Him. So there I was in my cozy bed and the sweet image of me walking toward Jesus filled my dreamy mind.  Here’s where the dream takes a big twist…instead of speaking to Him the well-crafted words I had practiced in my mind, Jesus looked at me, raised an eyebrow and spoke first.  He simply looked into my eyes and said, “Sheri, just shut up and trust me!” I have to tell you it left me more than a little bit rattled.  I had this whole tender, powerful, loving scene cooked up in my head and what I got was a straight, blunt, bottom line directive delivered with the tact of an older brother instead of a loving Father. The whole scene stuck with me like a license plate for several days and then it all began to make sense.

 A couple of years ago I heard a great speaker say that upon waking each morning; before the feet even hit the floor, that you should pray sincerely the following words, “Lord, I give you this day, come into my heart and change me drawing me closer to You.” Great advice and I do as he suggested daily, but I’m not sure how sincere or expectant I am about it.  I offer those words and then think about the ways I want Him to change me and draw me near.  I often try to make things easy for God and do His work for Him. I have a picture in my head of how my life should look and how I will serve and what my blessings will be.  I have it all boxed, wrapped and packaged neatly for God and going through the motions of that prayer each morning sometimes feels more like a confirmation than an invitation.  No wonder Jesus put things in such plain English for me!

That silly dream has caused me to reflect quite a bit!  The hardest part of truly trusting the work of the Lord in my life is accepting His plan even if it is hugely different than mine.  You think by now I’d realize He does much better work than I could ever imagine doing myself!  My mind has been flooded the past several days with examples of how He took over and did really cool stuff when I did as Jesus suggested in my dream…just shut up and trust!  I think one of the biggest surprises has been this blog.  Today’s post marks the 7th month of Joyful Words.  Prior to June 15th, the only thing I was writing was my grocery list! Who knew…uh…God did!  There have been so many Sunday and Wednesday nights I’ve stared down at this laptop and thought…hum…I got nothin!  Each time that happens, I surrender, ask the Holy Spirit to send me something folks need to hear and poof…there is a post!  This blog has been a huge blessing to me and I thank all you who read it and offer your encouragement.  Believe me when I say your comments and feedback are a blessing and they keep me writing.  This is completely the work of trusting a loving God because I have no training or
background as a writer. On all my “bucket” lists NEVER did “become a writer” appear!  It kinda makes me giggle because I think if He can do THIS with ME what else could He do if we just trusted Him????

Trusting in the will of the Father is an amazing thing.  I keep thinking about that dream and wondering how many other areas of my life I need to “shut up and trust” Him with.  Perhaps I need to get out my prayer journal and do my own homework assignment today.I hope you will too!

A Seed to Plant: Make a list of those things in your life that you need to surrender COMPLETELY to God, trusting faithfully in His will.

Blessings on your day!