Blindly Following the Leader

Joyful elementary-schoolers fill the air with melodious excitement as they sing together:

“Trust and obey,
for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus
but to trust and obey.”

Bring back memories? As children, many of us learned this chorus and others like it, storing it in the filing cabinets of our memories. We continue to grow up, but we sometimes forget, or even deny, the truths in these catchy tunes.

Personally, I have sensed for many years a calling on my life to foreign missions. Even at a young age, I knew that I was called to all nations of the world. Recently, our church announced the opportunity to minister in India this summer. Oddly, I possessed no desire to go. After years of waiting for an overseas mission trip, I pleaded a long list of excuses before God.

Why? I couldn’t tell you; it makes no logical sense. Thankfully, I opened my eyes to the possibility of participation after a conversation with my pastor and a meeting with my Savior at the throne room.

Believe it or not, this occurred within a 24-hour time frame.

How does this relate to children's songs? Since I made a commitment to this trip, my patience and trust have been tried. Usually, I try to make things happen for myself rather than letting God step in; I work and work in an effort to “do what needs to get done.” For the first time, I have stepped back and accepted the fact that I am not in control of my life—God is.

Consequently, the anxiousness and stress that would have filled every aspect of this trip previously no longer remain, all because of my willingness to “trust and obey.” Because God caught me off guard, He can craft this trip to His agenda rather than my own. It’s a glorious thing to watch as my personal plans fade away to reveal the beautiful butterfly of His perfect will.

God continues to teach me more challenging levels of this lesson, but from unconditional trust comes joy beyond measure. And this joy carries me through this race we call life.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:3, NKJV).