There is an old Twila Paris song that comes back to mind at key points in life – you know, those times when you seem to be in a major time of shaking concerning everything that you’ve known or of which you’ve been a part. It’s times when you can’t see what’s ahead, and it appears there is nothing underneath your feet anymore, for that matter, when you are trying desperately to hold onto the things that seem to be slipping from your grasp. It’s in times like those I begin to hear the words of Twila’s song, Do I Trust You, Lord?
Sometimes my little heart can’t understand
What’s in Your will, what’s in Your plan.
So many times I’m tempted to ask You why,
But I can never forget it for long.
Lord, what You do could not be wrong.
So I believe You, even when I must cry.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the river flow?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the north wind blow?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind,
And You’ve got to know
I would rather die
Than to lose my faith
In the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?
For Twila to have written this song, I believe she must have been experiencing a time of shaking in which she was forced to consider these very questions – and wait for the answer – before she could move on. As she continues to probe more deeply into her heart, the foundational question becomes so clear, as it must to each of us.
I know the answers, I’ve given them all.
But suddenly now, I feel so small.
Shaken down to the cavity in my soul.
I know the doctrine and theology,
But right now they don’t mean much to me.
This time there’s only one thing I’ve got to know.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the robin sing?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does it rain in spring?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind,
And You’ve got to know
I would rather die
Than to lose my faith
In the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?
At this point, the music and the lyrics build in intensity, as the spirit man is rising up within her to make the declaration setting her on course once again, able to press on no matter the shaking, the losing of what has been familiar and comfortable, or the great things in which she has put her trust.
I will trust You, Lord, when I don’t know why.
I will trust You, Lord, till the day I die.
I will trust You, Lord, when I’m blind with pain!
You were God before, and You’ll never change.
I will trust You.
I will trust You.
I will trust You, Lord.
I will trust You.
There have been times in my own life when I couldn’t honestly sing the final refrain, when I really wasn’t sure. It was in those times Holy Spirit ministered His comfort and assurance, along with the peace of Jesus Christ, until I could begin – with only whispers – to sing those last words. Though they were barely audible when I began, as I continued, the light of His Truth once again overcame the darkness that had tried to overcome me.
John 1:5 AMP And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Even after the breakthrough I continued to face what, to me, were overwhelming circumstances and situations. But God! The Greater One reminded me that I can trust Him absolutely and completely, even when I don’t understand, and that He will guide my paths (meaning, He will not leave me alone to figure it out). Surely, there is no place of more security and comfort than the place of trusting my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to His name!
1 John 4:4 NIV You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
To Make Christ Known 