Listen

Once you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and are settled there, take some of the early produce of the fertile ground that you have harvested from the land the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket. Then go to the location the Lord your God selects for his name to reside. Go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him: “I am declaring right now before the Lord my God that I have indeed arrived in the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.”

Deuteronomy 26:1-3

Think

I recently heard a story from theologian Henri Nouwen about a time he watched “The Flying Rodleighs,” a German trapeze group. After the show, he spoke to the leader, who explained the important role of the catcher, Joe. “The secret is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. When I fly to Joe, I have simply to stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me and pull me safely up. … The worst thing the flyer can do is try to catch the catcher. I am not supposed to catch Joe. It’s Joe’s task to catch me.”

Imagine being one hundred feet off the ground, relying completely on someone else to catch you. Seems a little scary, right? That takes trust.

Sometimes our trust in God comes from our daily quiet time, knowing that God is present in each moment alongside of us. But other times, our trust in God involves big leaps, trusting that God will catch us when we leap. Do you trust that God will catch you?

Molly Shoulta Tucker

Pray

Holy God, I admit that trusting you is difficult.

Challenge me today to put aside whatever prevents me from trusting in your goodness and grace.

Amen.

Go

Praise the Lord for grace and favor
to all people in distress;
praise God, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.

Henry Lyte in “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven,” 1834