Trust

“O Israel, trust in the Lord!” – Psalm 115:9

One lovely thing about our kids is that they’re still young enough not to be overly concerned about our itinerary during road trips. They don’t complain about where we’re staying or wonder why we decided to take one route over another. They don’t come with their own agendas. They’re mostly happy to be in the moment, riding along, and from what I can tell, the longer the adventure, the better. 

In his book The Pastor, Eugene Peterson discusses the question Jesus was often asked by his followers: “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” When is this going to happen? How long do we have to wait? Jesus’ response was, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” “In other words,” writes Peterson, “it’s none of your business. Your question is irrelevant. That kind of information is of no use to you. It would probably confuse you, might discourage you, and would certainly distract you.”

That reminded me of one time in the car when Elijah asked, “how many more minutes?” When Dave replied, “500,” I’m not sure he knew what to do with that information (he ended up moving on to the more relevant question of whether we could listen to the Frozen II soundtrack again). That’s how I am on the crazy trip that has been this year: God, how long do I have to wait? When will things go back to normal? When are you going to meet my expectations for how things should work?

And what I am slowly starting to wonder is whether I am asking an irrelevant question, one that discourages and distracts me from the very present now God wants me to be in. It’s hard, because this means I have to let go of my own agenda, the way the disciples had to let go of their dreams for the militaristic and political restoration of their people. I feel my agenda is normal and not too much to ask, but then so probably did the disciples. The point is, do I trust God or not? Am I sitting in the car constantly worrying and asking, are we there yet? Or am I willing to trust him each mile of the way?