I was surprised to see a letter from you in the mail today. You must have replied the same day or the day after you received my letter. I’ll try to be as prompt in responding to yours.

I agree with you that it’s difficult to put your trust in God. One of my favorite stories is about a guy who fell over a cliff. As he plummeted downward he grabbed hold of a branch of a small tree growing out of the rocks. Hanging there, he cried out, "Help!" Looking back up to the top edge of the cliff, he cried out again, "Help! Is there anyone up there?"

Just then a big booming voice from the sky replied, "I am here, just let go. I’ll take care of you."

Starting to lose his grip, the man asked, "Who are you? Where are you?"

The voice answered, "I’m God. Just let go and I’ll take care of you."

The man thought a minute, then cried out, "Is there anybody else up there?"

I can identify with that guy! I suppose it’s human nature to want to be in control. Yet if God is to truly be God to me, I must give control of my life to Him.

I’ve found that it’s easier to trust God with specific details of my life, as well as trusting Him with my life in general, if I remind myself of three great qualities that God possesses. I need to remember that God is all wise, all loving and all powerful.

The fact that God is all wise means that He always knows what’s best for us. God knows everything about everything. He’s aware of the exact number and locations of the atoms in the chair you’re sitting in. He knows every detail about every one of the millions of galaxies and the millions of stars in each galaxy. Between the tiny atom and the huge universe He knows everything there is to know. Nothing is beyond Him, nor does anything surprise Him. God exists outside space and time, so He knows not only all that’s happening but all that has happened and all that will happen. Yes, God is all wise.

The fact that God is all loving means that He wants the best for us. He has created us to be the recipients of His love. He seeks our best interest. It’s like the ideal parent-child relationship, but He knows far better than the best parents what His children need and what is good for us. Like a good parent, He’s more interested in giving us what we need than always giving us what we want. Yes, God is all loving.

The fact that God is all powerful means that He can do anything. He has made everything, He makes it run, and everything is under His ultimate control. He rules and reigns completely. He even has the power to take the bad that happens to us and turn it into something good. Yes, God is all powerful.

The reason that we can trust God is because of all three of these facts about Him. God is all wise and knows what’s best for us. God is all loving and wants the best for us. God is all powerful and can do what’s best for us.

Giving leadership of our lives to God seems to be costly; after all, that means our lives are no longer our own to run the way we want. But when you keep in mind these three great affirmations about God’s wisdom, love, and power, we can believe that it

ultimately pays more than it costs.

I have a wedding rehearsal to go to. The wedding is tomorrow in someone’s backyard, and rain is forecast. It should prove interesting.

A fellow seeker after truth,

Dave