I’ll Catch You

Trust is a benefit to the one who embraces it. The blind person, trusting his guide dog. The sick person, trusting her caregivers. The child who trusts her father. All these derive a great benefit of peace and confidence and safety in the willingness to trust. Trusting is an act of will that enables the one who trusts to make progress and to thrive in the face of the unknown and the unseen; and, trust and faith are necessary partners because you cannot trust what or who you do not first believe.

I remember being a young child at the swimming pool with my father. I was watching other children jump from the diving board and wishing I could do that, and daddy encouraged me. “I’ll catch you,” he said. So, I got in line and made my way to the bottom of the stairs going up to the diving board. I began to be nervous as I mounted the steps and crept out to the end of the diving board. When I looked down, the water and my father seemed very far away, and I started to cry. Daddy, treading water, said again, “I’ll catch you.” I wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t sure. Then he asked me, “Have I ever dropped you?” No, sir. “Don’t be afraid. Trust me.” So, looking down into his fierce eyes, I chose trust, and I jumped. Of course he caught me, and we both laughed. There would have been no joy of shared triumph in that moment if I hadn’t chosen to trust.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart triumphs, and with my song I shall thank Him.” (Psalm 28:7 NASB) The psalmist understood the benefit of trust, and he chose in his heart to place his trust in the Lord. Understand that trust is not an emotion. It doesn’t happen to you. It is an act of will.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB) When we choose to trust, we are no longer dependent upon our own ability to see, to understand, or to assess the best way forward. We are trusting the good character and the sovereign power of the Almighty because we are believing His promise to direct our paths.

“The sorrows of the wicked are many, but the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.” (Psalm 32:10 NASB) I believe that choosing to trust God stabilizes us, and offers us a place of freedom from which to make the decision to follow Him and obey Him every day. Trusting God opens our heart to the love of God. We see His trustworthiness proven to us over and over again, and we are captivated by His unchanging and unfailing love for us.

I pray in Jesus’ name that you, dear reader, will come to know and believe the One true God in ways that engender trust, so that you may depend entirely upon Him and thrive in the places He will lead you. May the Spirit of the Most High be with you to open the eyes of your heart and give you peace. Amen.

Until next week, dear one, benefit from trusting the One who is always trustworthy.