My day was off to an exciting start and I was ready for another long drive in my current RV journey.
And then it happened.
A careless turn, in a parking lot of all places, caused major damage to the underside of the RV, leaving it inoperable. That and I’m still a couple of days from home.
I recorded the podcast while waiting for a mobile repairman.
All the questions: how much will this cost, how long will it take to fix, will I be stuck in this town for days? Oy!
It’s so true though: it’s easy to be a full-of-faith Christian in the good times, but what do we do when things don’t seem to be going our way?
It all comes down to knowing what it means to trust God.
To trust is to believe in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of something. So, when it comes to trusting God, that means believing in His reliability, His Word, His ability and His strength. The Bible says that God cannot lie. That He always keeps His promises. That He loves you and has good in store for you. Trusting in Him means believing what He says about Himself, about the world and about you is true.
Trusting God is more than a feeling; it’s a choice. A choice to have faith in what He says even when your feelings or circumstances would have you believe something different. Your feelings and circumstances are very real, and God cares about them both. But those things can change at any moment, even in an instant.
God, on the other hand, does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and therefore is worthy of your trust.
Trusting God is not about ignoring your feelings or reality. It is not pretending that everything is OK when it isn’t. Trusting God is living a life of belief in and obedience to God even when it’s difficult.
In Episode 143 of the The Brian Sussman Show Podcast, I detail the events of this morning, and expound on some key points to live a life of faith, even during times of challenge. Like I said, I created the podcast (and wrote this blogpost) while sitting in the broken RV.
As my wife told me over the phone: “Brian, you’re safe, you’re not in a hurry, it’s only money. I can fly down to be there with you if you would life. God’s got this.”
Phew. I love my wife.
Meantime, here I sit, patiently wait for the mobile repairman….
PS: after some phone calls, a great mechanic arrived, temporarily shored up the front hydraulic leveling jacks that were laying on the pavement beneath the RV, and said, “You’ll probably make it home okay.”
“Probably?” I asked.
“You should be good,” he restated. “Just avoid bumpy roads and speed bumps. The hydraulic jacks for the leveling system will need to be secured properly by an RV repair outfit that can can it up on a rack.”
I thanked him profusely, paid him cash, and cautiously drove nearly 500 miles to our place in Northern Nevada. I winced (and prayed) with every bump. The freak 30-minute snow storm I ran into only stretched my faith.
By the way, all this and I didn’t mention the flat tire I had the day before!