Trusting God

 

(PC-2025-03-12)

Scripture: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV

The Common English Bible translates it this way: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight.”

Trust is one of the most challenging yet beautiful aspects of our walk with God. We often say that we trust God. But it is usually demonstrated in the areas where we feel comfortable—but true trust goes deeper. It asks us to surrender even the parts of life we cannot control, the questions we cannot answer, and the outcomes we cannot predict.

When Proverbs tells us not to “lean on our own understanding,” it is not saying don’t use your brain, it is reminding us that our perspective is limited. We see only a moment, but God sees the whole picture. We see what is immediate and transient, but God sees what is eternal. Trust means letting God be God—allowing Him to guide, even when His direction doesn’t yet make sense. Its a mindset.

Consider a child learning to walk. They reach out for a parent’s hands, believing—even without understanding—that those hands are strong enough to hold them. And if they let go of your hand and stumble, they quickly reach out to grab yours.  In the same way, God extends His hand to us each day. He asks us not simply to believe that He exists, but to rely on Him, confident that His wisdom is greater, His timing is perfect, and His love is unfailing.

I’m sure each of you have had moments when you had to just give up on your own self belief and trust someone, something beyond what you could immediately comprehend. 

And then, you just let go and trust! Trust in God because there is no one you could trust!

Many years ago when my children, Lilly and Nick, were probably just about 6 to 9 years old, we sent them to a kids summer camp. The camp, Camp Timber Ridge located in central Indiana, was surrounded by numerous little caves barely wide enough to fit a small human. On the last weekend of the camp, my wife and a few parents from our little church in Terre Haute, Indiana, went to visit the kids on Sabbath afternoon. Nick and the other kids were winding their way through caves emerging several yards beyond. “Dad!” he said! “Come go through the cave with me!” I viewed the small entrance and said, “No, son! That space is much too small for me!” “No, Dad. I've been through it many times and you can do it!” He grabbed my hand and I followed him to the mouth of the cave with extreme anxiety but finally decided to give it a try. “Hold my hand and I’ll lead you!” he said. Reluctantly, I did. As he entered the mouth of the cave, the space narrowed with barely enough space for my narrow shoulders to pass through.  And as he winded his way, the cave became narrower and pitch black, and I became extremely fearful that I just couldn't do it or I might get stuck. “Just hold my hand, Dad! Don’t let go!”  I held his hand tightly. Light finally appeared as we thankfully emerged from the darkness.

Those words, “Just hold my hand!” 

We live in an age or time when it seems like there is failing trust of our institutions, our governments and the people who lead, and even our churches and church leaders! To some degree we must still maintain some level of trust to exist in society—trust in our leaders, our colleagues, our family, our friends if we are to survive this earthly journey. We can deeply trust only as they follow the will of God.

But we can place our ultimate trust in the God who has promised to direct our paths. 

Prayer:

“Lord, teach us to trust You with all our hearts. Help us to release our fears, our plans, and our desire for control. Give us the courage to follow wherever You lead and the peace to rest in Your promises. Direct our paths today, and help us to walk in faith, knowing that You are always faithful. Amen.

Fighting For Better

I have not posted on this site in quite a while. However, today I was inspired to share the weekly blog that Daryl Tol, President of Florida Hospital (soon to be AdventHealth) writes to all employees. This post, following, is an inspiring look at the journey towards perfection and I share it in its entirety. His story follows:

(Team Update - Week of September 9)

 I was sharing the stage recently with three physician leaders. We were talking about the opportunities we have to do an even better job for customers if we all work together. The audience was made up of a large number of primary care physicians and the engagement was excellent. Except in one of the back corners of the room. In that dark corner, one of the participants was leaning back, arms defensively crossed across his chest, waiting. As soon as it was time for questions and answers, his arm shot into the air. Actually, it may have already been in the air like the early press of the buzzer on Jeopardy.

When acknowledged, it became clear this moment was the entire reason our friend in the back corner had come. He grasped the mic, stood up, pulled the proverbial pin in the grenade and tossed his question into the middle of the room. “Florida Hospital has problems and its leaders are imperfect and as long as this is the case, how dare you ask us for our help making it better?” Actually, that’s a summary of a much longer question. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that line of reasoning and it always gives me pause. Florida Hospital has broken bits so we can’t fix it?

Imagine a patient walking into one of our offices with a broken arm. We look at her and tell her that until she gets that messed up arm in perfect working order, we can’t do anything for her! She’d probably have a few choice words for us because she can’t fix that arm by herself. She needs help. She’s willing, which is why she came in in the first place. But our expertise is the only hope she has. Sending her away unaided would be professional malpractice. No one would stand for this scenario related to a patient, but when it comes to working together as healthcare providers, the water gets muddier.

Now, step back with me from this scenario and think of the choice we’ve all made. The choice is to enter a profession in which all of us, every day, fight for better. We didn’t make the choice to win every battle. We certainly didn’t make the choice to win the war. We made the choice to fight. All of our patients will eventually pass away. We can’t provide eternal life or wipe away suffering and tears. We tell people they should exercise, lose weight, or stop smoking. Many don’t take our advice. We deal with the battered and the broken and the imperfect. That includes us. Throw paperwork, technology and regulation into the mix and it all becomes a significant weight on our psyche.

A weight on the psyche has to be dealt with and there are many ways people deal with the weight. One way is to become professional critics. There is an oddity in our human nature that if we can look at the other and point out his or her faults we can avoid our own sense of struggle, imperfection and loss. We can actually feel better because at least we aren’t as bad as…you. But, self-delusion doesn’t have a long-term healing effect and eventually becomes its own kind of weight. There is no nobility in being the sideline critic. Frustration and burnout are the inevitable result.

There is a healthier way to deal with the weight: First, accept the reality that you are fighting for inches, pushing a heavy ball forward. Second, realize that you are not up to the fight alone and that any weight is lifted more easily by a team. God made us to fight battles together, not apart. He made us smarter together. He made us stronger together. He made us more resilient together. He made life more fun when it’s lived together. Even though we live in an isolating time, it is still true that we are better together. That will always be true.

Every step toward our potential will take work. Some of the steps will take years of work. Some may not be completed in our lifetime. Imperfection is built in. Frustration will be part of the journey. There will be sweat on the floor. But there is nobility in this work. There is meaning in this work. It takes courage and commitment and trust and an undying willingness to lean on each other. The reward is progress and resilience and relationship.

Thank you for joining me in my imperfection to fight for better. I’m proud to stand beside you.

Daryl Tol

Inclusion or Seclusion; Insiders and Outsiders; Bridges or Barriers

I have not posted on this site for a while. Every week, Daryl Tol, President of Florida Hospital shares a story with the Florida Hospital family and this one was posted on Sunday, May 22, 2016.  It is my pleasure to share this one with you. Thanks Daryl.

Speaking of unheralded, we probably forget sometimes that we have a University that is part of our family. If you’re a graduate, then you don’t, of course. But if you didn’t attend Adventist University of Health Sciences you could be forgiven for momentary lapses in remembering. Anyway, the leadership there spent some time this week planning and discussing and doing other smart and academically impressive things together. They even let me gather with them for about an hour, momentarily lowering the IQ requirement.

During their meeting they talked about the contrast between something called bounded sets compared to something called centered sets. I told you it was smart and academical. The explanation went something like this…

There are two different ways of keeping groups of things together. One is to gather them together and fence them in. That would be a bounded set. If you’re inside the fence you’re an insider. If you’re outside the fence…yep, you got it. The other way would be to create some kind of attractive element that draws things toward it. That would be a centered set. In that case, you’re not inside or outside. You’re just closer or farther from the attractive element in the center.

An example. In the American west as settlers started meandering across the landscape, they continually struggled with their animals wandering off. That’s why in 4^th or 5^th grade we learned about this amazing thing called barbed wire that transformed the west. Simply by pounding posts into the ground and stringing barbed wire across thousands of acres, ranchers and farmers staked their claims and bundled up what they owned into neat packages. They created huge bounded sets to identify what was in and what was out. And then gave them catchy names like “The Squirming S” or “The Rocking Z”.

Other parts of the world used a different approach. Australia is apparently a great example because it happened at around the same time. There, in Australia, they didn’t fence in the landscape. Instead, they dug water holes and wells. Knowing livestock in that dry territory would hang out close to water, they created a centered set. A place that would draw in their livestock, keeping them in reasonable proximity. The next rancher over would do the same thing and everyone would keep their cattle (maybe even a few kangaroos) close enough for comfort.

This kind of thinking defines our world. Consider countries. Some places get pretty extreme and build huge walls that try to keep their population inside. Think of places like the old Soviet Union or North Korea. It seems as if the higher the wall, the more people want to get out, but they still try. America is certainly imperfect, but it has built a philosophy around possibility that draws people here from all over the world. Rather than trying to leave, people come. It works so well, some people talk about building walls to keep people out. But that’s another topic entirely.

Consider the spiritual application. Some of us have been raised to believe that our religion is like a fence. You’re either inside (yay) or outside (boo). It can feel pretty good being inside of any group. And it can feel pretty bad being outside. It plays into our human nature as the insiders build a sense of superiority and the outsiders build a sense of resentment. Not really healthy in either direction.

God had a different plan. He didn’t build a fence. He built a well. He called it living water and said if we drank from it we wouldn’t ever be thirsty again. Many of us see the cross there. We know that God put it there and that any time we choose to turn toward it, it is there for us, no matter how far away we are. That it will save us whether we’re 10,000 miles away or 3 feet away. There’s no fence to climb over and there’s no inside or outside. We’re just His and He loves us. He loves us enough to let us wander off into the desert if we want to, but He always makes it so easy to come back. It’s a miracle, I think.

Once I realize the power of this, it changes the way I see other people. The way I’m called to care for everyone I come in contact with. Because we’re not on different ranches or part of various warring tribes. We’re on the same journey and can be a huge help to each other along the way.

Daryl

Health Update XXVI

One year ago, on August 21, 2007, I wrote the following:

Today is a special day. On August 21, 1977, a beautiful young bride, Nichole Ann Bovell, joined me at the altar of the Caribbean Union College church, where we pledged to love each other till death separated us. Earlier this year, we began planning a special 30th anniversary celebration – maybe a Caribbean cruise or doing some overseas travel without the kids who are now grown-up. We had frequently missed opportunities for anniversary celebrations as it seems that they always occurred during the first week of my college teaching and administrative responsibilities, or just as we were busy getting the children back to school after the summer vacation. This time it would be special. But this morning, I leave home early to continue my second phase of the chemotherapy, which began yesterday. Our plans were thwarted!

It was difficult to write those words as I ventured down the path of the unknown. One year later, the experience is still sharp in my memory. Although I trusted God to see me through this journey of faith, the future seemed dark, not only for survival of cancer, but enduring the excruciatingly painful accompanying experience. This year (August 21, 2008) I had a less intimidating medical appointment, a CT scan. I am reminded of another guided tour I took many years ago.

When my son Nicholas was about eight or nine years old, he attended a pathfinder’s summer camp at Camp Timber Ridge, Indiana. One Sabbath afternoon, Nichole and I went to visit the little campers and discovered them running though some caves and tunnels in the hillside that could barely accommodate a medium sized adult male. I watched as the kids entered the little holes and zipped through the exits a few minutes later. At Nick’s invitation, I attempted to go through the tunnel but was gripped by fear of being lost in its dark underworld or being stuck somewhere in the middle. After hesitating for a while, he grabbed my hand, looked at me in the eye and said, “Dad, I have been through these caves many times this afternoon and I know the way. Hold my hand and I will guide you through.” With my heartbeat increasing with every second, I held his hand and followed. “I will hold you! Keep your head down, don’t let go!” he shouted, as I followed him. After what seemed like an eternity, I could see a small glow of light illuminating the exit. I knew that I would soon safely make it through.

I am grateful to God for holding my hand and guiding me through the unknown. My recovery is still underway. I experience many side-effects of radiation and chemotherapy including, sleep apnea, trismus (restrictive movement of the jaw), xerostomia (dry mouth due to reduced saliva) and constriction of the trachea, among others. But I can see the light signalling the end. I can see the glow of the exit. I like the symbolism of the dawning of a new day and I am intrigued by the promise of Isa 60:20,22.

“Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your day of mourning will come to an end. …At the right time, I, the Lord will make it happen.” (New Living Translation) or

“Your sun will no longer set; your moon will not disappear; the Lord will be your permanent source of light; your time of sorrow will be over. …When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!” (NETBible)

What a promise! I believe it. Do you?

Love and Blessings,

Len

Have you ever encountered an angel?

A few weeks ago, my daughter, Lilly, was returning to Silver Spring, Maryland after spending the July 4 (2008) weekend with her aunt in Connecticut. My cell phone rang at about 03:30 pm. “Daddy, my car is overheating. The needle is at the top of the red bar. What should I do?” “Where are you,” I inquired. She indicated that she was somewhere on the New Jersey turnpike heading south. She knew no one in New Jersey and was obviously concerned, as I was, about being stranded in a no-man’s-land. I instructed her to pull over immediately, open the hood, and make some casual observations to see if the cooling system had any fluid or whether there were any obvious leaks. I also advised her to call triple-A (AAA).

A few weeks before, I had called AAA to tow my car to the Pep Boys near my home after my vehicle had stalled on the Florida Turnpike in Orlando, Florida. I was about 19 miles from home and was certainly grateful for the service provided at such a late hour – after 10:00 pm. That same week I received a flyer from AAA with an offer to add a relative to my membership for a small fee. Knowing that my daughter, who still lives at home as she completes law school, was planning to drive to Maryland in a few weeks for a summer internship, I grasped the opportunity. I filled out the application, immediately mailed it in, and told her what I had done.

As we talked about her situation on the road, we realized that we had not received her membership card. I gave her my membership number and hoped that would suffice. She called AAA, gave her name and my number, and indicated her location. She was informed that the Turnpike was a private road serviced by the Turnpike Authority who contracted towing companies to service the Turnpike. Triple-A was not authorized to tow vehicles off the turnpike. The AAA representative further explained that if the Turnpike Authority moved her car from the highway to a specific location, then AAA would then tow her vehicle to an auto repair establishment of her choice. The AAA representative offered to call the turnpike service and meet her at a specified location. In a few minutes both tow trucks arrived and the first step was completed. But where would she take her car on a July 4 holiday evening? Most establishments are closed and she was a stranger there. The Turnpike towing driver suggested a reputable auto repair service just 1.3 miles away, well within the free mileage limit allowed by Triple-A. “However, it is not on the AAA-approved list of auto repair establishments,” he said. At my advice she agreed to take her car there and called a friend in Philadelphia who agreed to meet her in about 45 minutes.

The mechanic did a cursory examination and provided a report on the problem. He informed Lilly that when he opened the garage on the following day he would do a thorough analysis and provide a repair estimate and estimated time of pick up. With a prayer on our hearts, she went with her friend who by this time had arrived from Philadelphia. The AAA driver, it seemed, had left her in good hands. She returned to pick up the car at the end of the week. It was repaired and she was able to drive back to Maryland.

About a week later in Maryland, her car did not start and we suspected a faulty battery. “Call Triple-A,” I said. “They will give you a jump and you can then take your car to check on the battery.” The Triple-A representative indicated that she was not a member, that her name was not listed under her parents membership, and that they could not provide the service. Obviously, she called me and I was furious. On a three-way call I insisted that that explanation was unacceptable. “Just a week ago I called Triple-A, and a tow truck was sent to tow my car to a repair shop in New Jersey,” my daughter opined. I demanded to speak to a supervisor who calmly agreed to investigate the matter. “Sir, there is no record of your daughter’s membership. There is no record of a call in New Jersey and there is no record of any Triple-A representative towing your daughter’s car in New Jersey. The last call we have from you was in Orlando more than two months ago.” Our call accidentally disconnected and I decided to pursue the matter at another time.

Over the next few days, I thought a lot about the series of events.

1. Triple-A could find no record of my daughter’s call for help in New Jersey.
2. Triple-A claimed that they never sent a driver to that location.
3. Lilly recalls that the “Triple-A driver” never asked for her card, never completed any paperwork, and did not ask her to sign anything.
4. The “Triple-A driver” took her to the auto repair location and then disappeared into the night.
5. The repairs were apparently well done as she drove her 2001 Saturn safely back to Orlando at the end of her summer internship.

Is there room in your mind for the supernatural? Do believe in angels? I do! "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways..." Psalm 91:11.