"In God We Trust?"

We just returned from a cruise to the Western Caribbean. One of our ports of call was in Belize City. We went on a cave tubing adventure with our guide “Thomas”. Most people book their shore excursions from the ship they are traveling on, but being the sage cruise veterans we are, we met “Thomas” on the pier and made the arrangements there.

We had a great time and Thomas was an accommodating and seasoned guide. On the way back, some of our party entertained the idea of being dropped off at the beach, to fill the extra time we had before our ship left port. We considered this very briefly. It was then that my pessimistic attitude kicked in. I realized that only God and “Thomas” would know where we were!

I had met “Thomas” a few hours ago; I had known God all my life. I didn’t trust “Thomas”, but how much did I trust God?

How often do we make really dumb decisions only to expect God to bail us out? God set us apart from all the other animals on earth. We have the ability to reason, make decisions and exercise free will. How many times have we told our children; “Don’t touch that, it’s hot”, only to have to bandage their wounds after they ignore us? Faith is not expecting God to rescue us from every dumb decision we make. Faith is trusting God to help us use the intelligence and common sense He gave to us.

God gives us clear direction in His Word about how we should conduct our lives. When we fail, He is ready and willing to forgive us. So many people fail to realize that God doesn’t always rescue us from the consequences of our actions.

Trust Him. Have faith in Him. Get back on the ship and swim in the pool!