Seek More Trust…

This week, I’ve found myself in several conversations where one theme kept surfacing: clarity. People were either seeking it, asking for prayer that it would be revealed, or even struggling with what to do once they had it. Sound familiar? It does to me. I seek clarity all the time. If I’m being honest, I rarely ever find it.

It’s a very human thing to fear the future. So...we seek clarity. We wonder about what’s next, and we do our best to plan ahead in hopes of making things more secure. Clarity isn't a bad goal, but when it becomes our main pursuit, it can easily lead us to frustration and even paralysis.

A good friend of mine shared a story at lunch this week that brought some real perspective to this search for clarity. It involved a well-known figure of faith: Mother Teresa.

While on a mission trip, a group of people sat down to pray with her before heading out to serve. She asked what she could pray for, and the group asked her to pray that God would give them clarity about their long-term mission.

Her response?

No.

She refused to pray for clarity. But she didn’t refuse to pray.

Instead, she told them that she would pray for trust. That their trust in the Lord would grow, and that they would pursue a daily walk with Him into the work He had called them to. Why? Because long-term clarity and full knowledge of what’s ahead requires no faith. But trust, especially trust in the absence of full understanding, builds faith.

Faith grows not when we have all the answers, but when we take the next step anyway.

It reminded me of one of the most well-known and well-loved Proverbs:

Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

So, as we close the week, here’s my prayer for every set of eyes that makes it this far into this edition of the Daily Tithe:
That God would reveal just enough for our next steps to be firm, but hold back just enough to stretch our faith.
That we would have enough understanding to move, but need enough dependence to draw closer to Him.
And that in all things, Jesus would be glorified.

-Mark