The Echo

Have you ever played with your echo.  As kids we found empty places to yell then hear our own yellin’ return to us.  Today, it’s toys that record your voice then play it back to you.  Yeah, best be careful with those toys!

 

The greatest pushback may come from these words, “trust me.”  Sure, there are slight-to-large measures of trust: trust me to do a thing by a certain day or time versus trust me to protect you from physical harm.  Nonetheless, that relinquishing – that giving up – of trusting myself exclusively is tough.  God said to Abraham, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 13:1). Do you hear it -- that command to separate yourself from what is familiar, what is secure, what is loved, from … yourself?  Similarly, Jesus did the same thing when He said to His disciples, “Come, follow Me ..” (Matthew 4:19).  He explained further, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24).  When we put ourselves before those words, is there pushback?  Do I trust Him with the work or the church project I’m doing?  With April’s budget?  With my child’s bad choices?  With the relationships that overwhelm me?  Oswald Chambers writes, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading.” One of the first things you learn when studying the characteristics (attributes) of God is how limited our knowledge and shallow the depth of Who He really is!  Chambers adds, “The life of faith is not a life of mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting.” As tough as it may be to trust, as stiff-armed as the pushback may be, “Abraham believed God.” (Romans 4:3).  So, do you hear an echo – I hope it’s your own voice!