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by Sherry Chamblee

It’s like we’re children going to a haunted house attraction with our parents.

We’re so excited to be going to the amusement park. We prepare and we gather all our things together to make it the perfect trip. We make sure we have all we need to get inside.

Then we walk around the park, holding our mom and dad’s hands, just happy to be with them and to see all the great things. We get to visit a fun place, with someone we love, who’s taken care of us all our lives.

But then, we get in line for the Haunted House. The line is no big deal. Dad is holding our hand, Mom’s got her map out tracking where we’ll go next. Everything’s fine, until suddenly, we’re next in line. We look up, into a black hole of a doorway, weird sounds reaching our ears, a cold blast of air chilling us to the bone. We wonder just exactly what we’ve gotten ourselves into here, and clutch Dad’s hand a little tighter.

He tugs as Mom urges us over the threshold from behind, but we suddenly aren’t so excited about this. Not at all. It’s dark in there. There’s odd smells, and strange sounds, and we think we saw something scurrying across the floor just out of sight. This cannot be right. Something’s not ok here. We hold back, tugging Dad back again, but he’s looking down and smiling, just telling us it’s all ok, he’s strong and secure, and knows exactly what’s going to happen. He won’t let go of our hand.

Then it all comes to a realization in that moment – we trust Mom and Dad enough to know they’ll care for our needs – food and clothes and school. We can get in a car and let them drive us around.  We can be excited to get here to the amusement park and to be spending time with them.

But do we trust them enough to walk into a dark scary place just holding Dad’s hand?

That’s how I am with God. It’s fine when it looks like everything’s good. I can trust God to take care of me, right?

Until things get scary. Until things look out of control. Until there’s a new twist and I can’t see around the bend. Then I’m not at all sure God’s got this. I say I trust God for my food, my shelter, my clothing, my salvation, my very breath. But when He asks me to round a corner I’ve never seen before? To walk through a doorway into a dark room, and I don’t even know there’s a floor to stand on? To step out into something completely untried and untested?

Oh no, that’s scary. That’s too much to ask. That’s more than I can find the strength to trust God for.

And it’s in that moment that I realize I don’t even have enough trust to trust God on my own. God has to give me the faith to employ to trust Himself. How convoluted is that?

And yet it’s true. I have to ask God to help me even to trust Him – when He’s telling me to trust.

Imagine that though.  God loves us so much that when He asks us to do something, He then turns around and hands us what we need in order to accomplish that thing.

When He asks us to trust Him, He will give us what we need to do that. Just ask. God wants you to trust Him. God wants you to succeed. God wants to give you the faith you need to place your trust in Him to do those big scary things.

Just ask.

About the Author:

Sherry grew up in various cities around northern and central California. This gave her all sorts of stories that sat and festered in her brain, waiting to be let loose. She eventually went to college in Wisconsin, where she met her equally frenetic husband, Rich. They have six (yes, count them) children, two dogs and a cat, and currently reside in a madhouse in the southern California area. As a family, they enjoy being active in their local church. Sherry spends her time writing when not caring for Granny, the kids, the dogs, the cat and any number of strays in the neighborhood.

Sherry Chamblee can be found at http://www.sherrychamblee.weebly.com Or check out her books at http://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Chamblee/e/B00BA06RJ2/