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Key Bible Verse: "And I say to you, 'Do not be afraid. I am here to help you'" (Isaiah 41:13). Bonus Reading:Psalm 27:1-6

My son stood, his toes hanging over the edge of the pool, and peered down at the water.

We'd been working up to this moment all summer, and I'd hoped to capture it for our family video collection. In my mind, the scene was called "Spencer Jumps into the Pool" and it had gone without a hitch. The confident, strong-armed father motions for the boy to jump in and trust his dad to keep him afloat. The son, with complete confidence, leaps into the water and into the arms of his trustworthy dad while onlookers marvel at the powerful bond of love and trust between father and son.

But Spencer wasn't leaping. His gaze clearly said, "No way!" I opened my arms wide. "Come on, Spence," I quietly begged. "I'm right here. You can do it for Daddy. Pleeeease?" But my son, not yet three, had already learned that you can't always trust the guy who says, "Jump. I'll catch you!" As he grew up, he'd encounter dozens of ways to express that doubt in others: "I'll believe it when I see it," "Don't count your chickens until … ," "When they say, 'The check is in the mail' … ," "Show me the money!"

—Jeff Walling in Until I Return

My Response: How have people's unkept promises influenced how I view God?

Thought to Apply: It is not our trust that keeps us, but the God in whom we trust who keeps us.

—Oswald Chambers (British teacher, chaplain, 20th century)

Adapted from Until I return (Howard, 2000) by permission.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Heavenly Father, losing control is scary. Teach me to trust the tests and unknowns in my life to You.

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