I don’t know about the rest of you, but one of my favorite Disney movie moments is when Aladdin extends his hand to Jasmine and asks, “Do you trust me?” In fact, this moment happens twice in the movie. The first time, the palace guards are chasing the two of them on the rooftop, and there is no way out. Aladdin offers her an unseen method of escape. The second time occurs when Aladdin offers to take Jasmine out of the palace and bring her on an extraordinary adventure by way of a magic carpet. This iconic movie moment has made a lasting impression on me. You see, when I am going through a trial in my life, or when I’m simply feeling fearful, I sometimes feel like I am being closed in on all sides, and there is no natural way out. It is in those moments when I hear the Lord whisper in my ear, “Do you trust me?” Or when God asks me to step outside my comfort zone and take a leap of faith, and I feel I’m not qualified or worthy to do what He’s asked me to do, He again whispers in my ear, “Do you trust me?”
For you see, a woman who makes God Lord of her life, and submits to Him completely, can experience peace in the midst of the most trying or fearful situations. David is a perfect example of this. He faced an unconquerable giant, was pursued by King Saul, and was placed in many other life threatening predicaments. Throughout all these trials, David remained a man of peace, one without fear. In Psalm 56 verses 3 and 4 we see why. When he experienced these trials, he declared to the Lord,
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid.
It didn’t matter what David encountered; he was confident the Lord was in control. It didn’t matter that a young, unqualified boy was anointed King of Israel without any training or support from his family. He knew that – qualified or not – God would equip him to do the work he was called to do. David was steadfast, trusting in the promises of God.
Feelings of fear, anxiety, and worry are so prevalent today. And it is understandably so. The times we are are living in are downright scary. Read the cover of the newspaper or just watch a few minutes of the news. Deadly viruses, terrorist plots, financial decline. Or get a phone call from the doctor that says they need to do a biopsy because your initial test shows some suspicious findings.
What do you do? What can you do? You have two choices. You can react in fear and entertain the “what ifs” basing every decision on the worse case scenario. Or, you can have peace knowing that the living God, the creator of the universe, the omniscient, omnipresent, all-powerful one, loves you and has your life under control. Scriptures say in Jeremiah 17:7-8,
But blessed is the man, who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
So the next time you want to default to pure panic mode, listen to the still, small voice of God asking, “Do you trust me?” If your answer is yes, then God is able to take you on an adventure that makes a magic carpet ride seem boring.