Written by Paul J Bucknell on November, 16, 2019

Trusting God for Hectic Schedules: Trusting in the Lord (Hebrews 2:13)

We should trust the Lord in our daily lives, but how does it work out? Here is an example of how God boosted my trust for the stiff challenges that I faced on one hectic day.

Practical Needs

I recently faced a most unusual day, a day that shines a lot of light on how God somehow cares for His people. I did not, however, catch what was going on until after the 24 hours completed. But just the same, this powerful lesson well-illustrates God’s sufficient grace (2 Cor 12:9). In all honesty, we don’t know what any one of us will face during any day, but God does. Looking back, I could see how the Lord prepared me for what was coming.

Early Morning Encouragement

I didn’t do anything special that Tuesday morning, but I already had made plans for a long drive to a ministry board meeting early the next day. You can imagine how busy I was with preparations, especially after having just returned from a split business and family trip. I had so much on my mind, which, at my age, seems to retain less and less! But, as usual, I met with the Lord early in the morning before the unsuspecting turn of events cascaded upon me.

That particular morning I read the appointed Bible passages for that day from my Bible reading app. Some Bible passages from Isaiah 40, and a verse from Hebrews stood out particularly. As is my habit, I slowed down to pay special attention to those verses which stood out during my reading. I’ve learned over the years that those that stand out are words that the Spirit wants me to further reflect upon. Here are a few of the verses that stood out to me.

Isaiah 40:11-13 Power and Wisdom

¹¹ Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. ¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? ¹³ Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has informed Him? (Isaiah 40:11-13, Nasb)

God’s set of twins from Isaiah 40, His extraordinary power and care, pushed me to speculate about the enormity of His wisdom. I could almost see the multitude of stars, each with a name that He had given them by Him. This whole scene starkly reminded me of my puny brain, which struggles even with simple calculations. But, despite my small, breath-enlivened fragile being, the Lord cares for me. Because of this, I could further praise and trust Him with those things that I would face that day and in the distant future. Isaiah 40:13-15 further impressed upon me the glory of God’s will, not having a hint of inferiority or imperfection.

Isaiah 40:31 Gaining Extra Strength

³⁰ Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; ³¹ They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:30-31, Nasb)

Having returned from one trip and getting ready for another, I felt more tired than I thought. I, however, sat back and became powerfully reinvigorated by these verses. I spent quite a bit of time (not sure how long) deliberating on my weakness, vulnerabilities, the aging body, possible future challenges—some of which are beyond my ability to control. All those things drained my energy level. But I came out from meditating on these verses with vigor and confidence—not in myself but in Him who strengthens. “They will mount up with wings like eagles.”

When approaching retirement age, it’s easy to make extra allowance for one’s difficulties in processing or handling various projects and jobs. We lose confidence in one’s skills, but as much as that is true, God was now instilling confidence in me through His Word to trust Him for all the wisdom, strength, and energy I needed to accomplish His will. This lesson matched perfectly with my latest spiritual lesson—its okay to admit and acknowledge one’s weakness, for it gives further opportunity to trust God’s strength (I just finished my book, “Dying to Self”).

Hebrews 2:13 Putting Our Trust in Him

And again, “I will put My trust in Him.” (Heb 2:13a, Nasb)

The last verse that I will mention repeatedly came to my mind throughout that challenging day. Jesus, as our High Priest, quoted from the Old Testament trusting God the Father for all that He would face. Jesus would face severe challenges when He gave up His life on the cross (Heb 2:914-15). The more I realized how much Jesus could trust the Father for the difficulties He faced, the more buoyant I became. That meant my day would never be as bad as Jesus’ dark day. I could always fully trust the Father for whatever might pop up in my day.

On our Date

I went out with my wife on our weekly date that afternoon. It wasn’t easy due to my preoccupation with my trips. But I knew she needed to buy some groceries for the family and that we should spend some time together before I left. Our conversation started with my wife’s question, “So what was so helpful to you in your devotions?” While driving to a restaurant together (without the kids), I had stated that my devotional time especially encouraged me that day. It was at that time she asked me about my time with God, and I relayed some of the verses above.

I suddenly started to see where all this was going. That very morning, I rushed out to attend the pastor’s weekly prayer meeting at our church but found the car that I planned to take on my trip the next day refused to start. I had no time to fiddle with the car and took our van to the prayer meeting. When I got home, I started googling away to see what might be wrong with the car. Before we went out on our date, I tried starting it again and even used my battery starter device, but to no avail.

Linda knew by then that I was crunched for time with my baffling car problems. I no more had time to get it towed, taken to a shop, and get it fixed so I could drive it the next day. She asked, “Why did you still take me out?” I simply told her that though things weren’t working out for me, due to my morning reading, I could focus on enjoying our time together. In addition, I said something affectionate, “Because I love being with you!” But honestly, I also started to ask myself, “Why didn’t I just stay home and work out this car problem? After all, I’m leaving in just over 12 hours.” I somehow trusted God to take care of the problems.

A broken-down car caused a bit of consternation. It is at this point, and several times through the next day and morning, the verse, “I will put My trust in Him,” surged its way to the front of my mind. Still oozing with trust from my time with God, I responded to Linda’s question, something like, “God will work it out!” I didn’t know how it would work out but trusted the Lord. I started to think that this crazy issue was typical of the ones I faced before, during, or after one of my mission trips.

We shared one nice large lunch order and then went food shopping. I only reminded her, though I loved the time together, “We don’t have all day.” I had lots to do upon my return, not just with the car but the many to-do items before I left. I also had to manage some calls that afternoon. We had a great lunch date, though I increasingly started to feel like lots of things needed to be done with very little remaining time. But at the same time, I could sense that extra trust in my heart—even though I had no clue how things would work out. I only knew they would. I increasingly observed that God had purposely enriched my devotions to give me extra grace for that day.

More Concerns

I discovered that my wife wouldn’t have a vehicle if I took our van. I also wanted to make sure everything at home was okay. I searched for the source of my car problems and figured it could be the battery but probably the starter or relay. I called a few car repair places, but no-one answered the phone. Amazingly, I wasn’t troubled—though I kept wondering how things would work out. Yes, I attempted again to start the car with the starter, but it accomplished nothing. I gave up driving it. And so from that point on, I just tried to work out how I could take our van without causing too much inconvenience at home. But this was not going to be easy as Linda had several things to do for the next several days requiring the car.

Considering the situation, I notified one of my daughters that Mom might need some help, but her schedule was equally tight the next day with work and an eye appointment along with my son. At the dinner table, I asked for further details of when my wife and others had obligations. I was planning to leave town by 5 a.m., so everything had to be resolved. Thanks be to God, His truth still guided my mind and emotions with His Word, “I will put My trust in Him.”

At the end of dinner, my son, Isaac, said, “I can take a look.” I was thankful, but thought how little he knew about starting cars. And besides, the only thing we can do is jump the car with the starter. I did it twice so far! I didn’t say anything further at that point. A bit later, he came downstairs and started playing the piano. I defeatedly said, “Well, we could have another try.” He kept playing as I got things ready for the trip near the piano. After he completed that song, he said, “Let’s go.”

I first wondered what he meant, and then it dawned on me that he meant to look at the car. I told him, “I didn’t have any hope, but we could try.” I gave him the keys to toy with while I got the jumper. He couldn’t get it started, and so we tried to jump start it. Would you believe it? It started that time! We took it straight to the car parts place to get a free battery check. The man said the battery was fine, though a bit weak—probably from not being used. Well, I felt confident enough to take the car on the trip.

I asked my son, “Why did you offer your help?” He simply mentioned how he liked to tinker with things. I repeatedly told and texted him, “Thanks!” He did nothing more than I had done, but he did give me sufficient confidence to try again! “I will put My trust in Him.” I realized that God had specially placed my son as the last moment cure-all for my problem of hopelessness.

I should mention another burden that was on my heart. Each year, I travel overseas to train pastors. I was leaving in about 3 weeks’ time, but the costs were higher this time, almost double what I had been getting and using. Having been away, I needed to check out where we were in the gifts that were coming in for the trip. I found that the donations that came in brought us just over 70%. That was so much more than it had been. The verse again came to my mind, “I will put My trust in Him.” My heart was glad in the Lord!

Two Final Lessons

I snuck out of the house early before anyone was up, though my wife did get up to see me off. But guess what—that’s right. The car didn’t start. Well, it did start, but I left the dashers blinking for a minute while I ran in to get my bags and say goodbye. But when I tried starting it again, it wouldn’t turn over. At least, I knew what the problem was. I had the jump starter device in my trunk, swung it out, started the car, and drove off. I wrote this right after I returned from my trip. The battery had been recharged through the long highway miles, and I faced no further difficulty.

My heart is still amazed at how God filled me with trust so I could trust Him. He taught me in that time with Him that morning—without me knowing all the tense and unresolvable situations I would be placed in. He, the Great Counselor, keeps His Word, “I will put My trust in Him.” The Lord knew how He would hear our prayers and solve our problem but first had to get me to the place where I could fully see there was no way to resolve things on my own. He likes to magnify His wisdom through our lives. He knew my son would lead me to go back to the car to try again. I didn’t have to worry but could fully trust in Him. The greatest miracle was not getting my car going but having peace of heart the whole time.

Postscript

Oh, there was another lesson. My wife, about a week earlier, while still away on the first trip, suggested that I have someone back at home start up the car for me. I quickly dismissed her way-out suggestion. “The car is fine,” I thought. The Lord even worked back then to glorify Himself by giving wisdom to my wife for me. Thankfully, despite my foolishness for not listening to Linda’s advice, He graciously met me that morning so I could travel that nine hours and make the first board meeting of a ministry.

“I will put My trust in Him.”

Discussion Questions for Trusting God

1. When was the last time you felt so hectic? Why? How did you handle it?
2. Do you meet with the Lord each morning in His Word? Reflect on your regularity and degree He helps you.
3. How did God’s Word help him trust God for what was yet unresolved, even though there was a big-time crunch?
4. Explain how God used His Word to encourage you at some point.
5. Do you tend to worry or trust God? Why?