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I have recently been introduced to a new song, a song that
expresses trust when the Lord is painfully silent:
“When
You don’t move the mountains
I’m
needing you to move
When
You don’t part the waters
I
wish I could walk through
When
you don’t give the answers
As
I cry out to You
I
will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you”
(Lauren
Daigle, MIchale Farren, Paul Mabury)
The last verse of an old traditional hymn, “Be Thou My
Vision,” has the singer ask this of God:
“Heart
of my own heart, whatever befall
Be
Thou my vision, O, Ruler of all”
(Author
Unknown)
These words imply the importance of depending on the Lord,
by faith, even when difficult times befall.
Suffering and trials are helpful reminders that we are
fallen people in a fallen world, much in the need of rescue. They are also opportunities to trust our Lord
to redeem—work good out of—even the most difficult of times. This is a good thing. But these songs also expose another facet of
a life of faith.
What do we do when the Lord does move mountains, parts
waters, smooths our paths? After the
initial (and appropriate) expression of praise, do we maintain our Lord as our
Vision? Or do we play what I like to
call the Garden Game and begin to live life on our own? It is easy to say/think/behave in such a way
as to express, “Thanks, God! I can take
it from here!”
The truth is that it is as crucial to exercise faith and
trust in Christ in easy times as it is in difficult circumstances. When Jesus exhorted His disciples to abide in
Him (John 15), He did not attach a “but only in the hard times” caveat. If we are to deepen our relationship with our
Lord and bear fruit for His kingdom and His glory, then we need to attend to
our life of faith. As God is good all the time, so we walk in faith all the time.
Yes, yes, yes, we must trust the Lord as our Vision during
difficult times. And, yes, yes, yes, we
must trust the Lord as our Vision in easier times. May the Lord be our Vision whatever befalls,
even—and perhaps especially—in the easy times.
