As a child, I had the great privilege of being raised by parents who trusted God and took our family to church every single Sunday.

For as long as I can remember, we would sit in the pews with Mom, while Dad would sit on stage and sing in the choir. 

Often, Dad would catch my eye, and we would exchange our secret hello. 

This was, for him, a forefinger rub gently up and down one side of his nose, quite nonchalantly.  It was for me, a one-finger wave on the side of my nose, not quite so nonchalantly – accompanied by an absolute thrill that Dad had seen ME amidst the crowd of people.

This never got old.  Sheer delight in being seen, known, and acknowledged by my father.

All of us share a longing to be seen, to be known, to be acknowledged.  One of the great privileges of knowing God is that he does just this. 

As our Heavenly Father, he sees our hearts, and he knows us well – every pondering, every disappointment, every fear, and every difficult question we ask. 

And he acknowledges these with Biblical promises that bring us hope and teach us who he is. 

Throughout Biblical history, we have seen the character of God shine through in one fulfilled promise after another.

The Israelites taking the promised land, barren women having children, armies claiming victories, people saved from certain death, the Son of Man – Jesus – coming to save us all.

God proving over and over again that not only is he the maker of promises, he is the keeper also.

Our God always does what he says he will do.

This was true then, and it is true now. 

We serve the same faithful God who never changes.

The challenge for us is whether or not we choose to believe that he will actually fulfill his promises for us.

Let’s be honest – sometimes belief isn’t our first response.

We must remember that we serve a mighty God.  One who works in mysterious ways, and one who has purposes much grander than you or I can see.    

This is where our need for faith comes in.

Because the believer who is willing to trust God with the end of an unknown story is the one who will find herself standing firm in her faith.

Mary, as the soon-to-be mother of Jesus, is a beautiful example of this.  Trusting God with the impossible, she stands firm on his promises to her.  Her cousin, Elizabeth, upon seeing her faith, speaks this solid truth (Luke 1:45):

Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! (NIV)

My New Living Translation puts it like this: 

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.

As Elizabeth spoke this over Mary, she spoke this also over you and me.

We are blessed when we BELIEVE that God will do what he says he will do. 

Because belief leads to trust. And when we trust him, we are able to act according to what he asks of us.

Whether that is waiting on God, or whether it is taking Spirit-led action.

Either way, this puts into motion the very things he intends for our lives. 

And it opens within us a window to allow the works of God to be openly seen by others.

But those who struggle to fully trust will find themselves stunted with frustration. 

This is where the “why-Gods?” live, and the pain festers, and the hopelessness abounds.

If you find yourself there, it may be time to circle back, put your trust in him again, and BELIEVE. 

Believe like the plaque on my wall, hung as a daily reminder:  I trust the next chapter because I know the author. 

A sound reminder that ultimately, he is in control.  And we are not.  That it is best that we each lay down our desires and let HIM write our story.

There is no one more trustworthy than the one who sees your heart, knows your thoughts, and has every tool needed to carefully craft your future.

So, my friend, trust him to do what he says he will do.  Like Mary, be blessed because you believe he will fulfill his promises for you.

And when he asks something of you, step out in faith and DO it. 

Do it willingly and with belief that he will lead the way.