“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28 ESV)
Trust God
In C. S. Lewis’s book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children discover the land of Narnia. At the beginning of the book that the magical world is ruled by the evil White Witch, but the children quickly learn that the true king of that world, Aslan, “is on the move!”
The following conversation then ensues:
“Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“Safe?” said Mr Beaver. . . . “Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Susan’s uncertainty captures how we feel about God.
We know he’s the almighty Creator. But is it safe to trust him? If we turn our life over to him, can we trust him not to wreck it?
Trust can be defined as bold, confident security. It is acting based on the confidence we have in someone or something. If the weatherman forecasts a sunny day, trust is not walking around with an umbrella. Fortunately, God’s Word is a lot more trustworthy than the weatherman’s. He has the power to do anything, and his eternal character is to be faithful to us. God never fails; history tells us that every promise he makes comes true. He has promised to guide us through life and afterward take us to heaven, and we can build our life on those promises because he always keeps his promises (Psalm 93:5; 2 Corinthians 1:20).
We can also trust God because his plans are for our good. Romans 8:28 promises, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” If God can do anything, and he has promised to work everything for our good, then we can trust that his plans for us are far better than the plans we might make for ourselves.
But this doesn’t mean that God won’t “wreck” your life. His plans are bigger and more important than anything we might dream up. He has a way of coming into our hearts and transforming our priorities. Where we once had planned for ourselves a nice, quiet life, God might give us new plans for mission work in Asia or raising a houseful of orphans from Africa. He might, in fact, turn your life upside down. But if God does “wreck your life” it will be a good kind of wrecking. God may not be safe, but he is good. And his plans for you are good. You can depend on it.