Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Some of the most challenging times in our lives for trusting God are when things get difficult; like when facing a job layoff or when a child goes astray or gets into trouble with the law or when one of our family members is seriously ill.  When our children were very small we had one such scare.  Our daughter had a growing lump on her neck protruding from her throat.  We made an appointment with our doctor who immediately sent us to the top pediatric oncologist in our city.

We received very few answers and just the word oncologist made us very jittery.  We feared the worst.  The oncologist scheduled an operation to remove the lump and told us that they wouldn’t be able to tell us what it was until it was removed.  The surgeon was only able to remove a small portion of the lump and tests proved inconclusive on the nature of what it was.

Within just a few weeks the lump grew back and at a return visit to the doctor he looked very concerned.  He said that he wouldn’t blame us if we decided to go with a different surgeon.  I knew he was the best in his field and I remember thinking to myself that I needed to trust this man.  Ultimately I needed to trust that God was in control no matter what the outcome was.  We scheduled a second surgery and this time we were able to hear good news that this was a benign cyst.

Still during those days and weeks of wondering about our daughter’s future we knew we had to trust in God.  We knew that He was worthy of our trust no matter what the circumstances were.  We knew He was strong enough to carry us through any trial.

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV)

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.