September 2, 2006
I admire the faith that my three-month-old nephew has. He knows that if he cries, his mother or father will feed him. The idea that they wouldn’t is inconceivable to him. If he needs a diaper changed, he knows mommy and daddy will be there again; all he needs to do is cry. In fact, all he needs to do is cry and he will most likely get whatever he wants from his parents, whether it be food, a clean diaper or a good burping. They do this, of course, because they love him and want to take the best care of him they can.
Throughout the entire Bible, there is a question that God (our Father) seems to continually ask His people. It appears over and over again and almost everyone is faced with this question. After a while one can almost anticipate the question and think, “OK, here it comes, how will this person do?” The question that God asks, though never directly in these words, is, “Do you trust Me?” To paraphrase it another way, “Do you trust that I am your Father and can do all things, and that I want to take care of you?”
Abraham is asked this question when he is approached by an angel and asked to sacrifice his only son, who he has waited so long for. Joseph must face this question when he is betrayed by his brothers and put in prison in a foreign land away from his family. Moses must answer this question when he is standing before the Red Sea while the Egyptians are in pursuit of him and the Israelites. David faces this question when he stands before the giant Goliath. Our Blessed Mother is asked the same question when she stands by and watches her Son be beaten, spit on, mocked and crucified.
“Do you trust me?” It is on almost every page of Scripture, and coincidentally, it is on every page of our own life.
All of us are faced with challenges in our life. Maybe we are struggling with a terminal illness, the pain of seeing friends and family away from the Church, a difficult marriage, or unhappiness due to a job or another situation in life. God, very quietly and always respectful of our freedom, comes into our life with the same question, “Do you trust me?” It is an invitation to turn away from ourselves and our own self-absorption and turn towards God our Father and allow Him to be who He is. It is an invitation to throw away our anxiety and haste and experience the peace and stillness of God’s presence in our lives, despite what might be going on around us. As the psalmist says, “God is our refuge and strength; we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” (Psalm 46:1 -3)
So many people today ask, “Where is God?” But maybe a more appropriate question would be, “Where are you?” God is present, whether in times of suffering or joy; but do we have the faith and the trust to believe this, to see Him and to know that He is near. Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33) and then goes on to say that everything else will be provided for in our life if we seek Him first. If we put God first in our life and serve Him with our whole life, then we can be assured that God will be faithful to His promise.
God desires to be everything to us—our hope, our love, our joy, our peace and our refuge. He is too good to be anything but number one. Let us not refuse His humble plea to be involved in every aspect of our life. Let us give Him everything: our darkness, our friends, our joy, our sorrow, our doubts and our love, for His shoulders are big enough to carry them all.
Br. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock CFR
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