First Steps

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:10 NIV)

My 9-month-old granddaughter, Emma, will be walking very soon.  She is at the "cruising" stage where she will take little steps while holding onto furniture.  When she gets to the end of a couch and is looking longingly at the footstool a short space away but out of reach, a parent or grandparent will hold out their arms and and encourage her to take that first littl step on her own.  She is not quite ready, so the arms come in closer until she really doesn't have to let go of the couch to take hold of the waiting hands and she is moved to the prized footstool.  How cruel it would be to move those hands the second she decides to trust!  She would have trust issues the rest of her life.

Throughout scripture we are reassured that we can trust God.  His hands are always there when we need them.  If he even onced moved those waiting arms when they were needed the most, "trust" would not be one of the top biblical themes.  Trust is built on experience.  One failure is all it takes to erode it.  We see it in human relationships all the time.  Trust can be rebuilt, but it is a slow and painful process to all parties in the relationship.  Consistency is crucial.

God is trustworthy because he is perfectly, eternally consistant.  He is always there to comfort, to encourage, and to pick us up when we fall.  And we only fall when we fail to trust him completely.  Even though we know God's love for us is even greater than our love for our own children and grandchildren, like Emma, we are often not ready to take that step into God's encouraging arms.  We prefer the safety of the firm couch to the untested experience God has waiting for us.

How limited Emma's life would be if she continued to need furniture next to her to walk.  She would miss out on a world filled with wonders and amazing experiences.  I wonder how much we miss, when we turn away from God's encouraging arms to hold on to our own couches?

Lord God,
Give us the courage and trust we need to walk away from the couch to your waiting arms.  Help us to discover that we can do it and that you are there to make sure we succeed.  Amen.