A few years ago, I was given the opportunity to speak to the graduating class, and during these short talks, the task given was to equip each student with a CHARGE.  This was a way to encourage the students to look forward past today, past tomorrow’s graduation, and into their coming futures, to SEE more clearly how God really does lead those who He calls His own.

CHARGE.

This is a strange word when considering “a talk” given to young seventeen and eighteen-year-olds; yet, a Baccalaureate service with a Charge given has been a part of many schools’ May celebrations for quite a long time (even during the time in 1963 when mom graduated from high school).

This “charge” word may cause us to pause, to scratch our heads and wonder, WHO should we give our future to, and WHO should “take charge” of our time?

Even though we may be a few years past high school graduation, today is still a good day to pause and ask ourselves again—

Who have we entrusted with that task?  &

Why have we given our trust to the One we have chosen?  &

How far are we willing to——

To Follow?

To Serve?

To Go?

To Pursue?

To Believe?

To Seek?

To Trust?

To openly STEP, To openly FOLLOW, To openly ALLOW, To openly GIVE GOD control to “take charge” of our whole being? 

 YES, today is a great day to ask——

How far are we willing to let go?

How much do we trust?

How can we know for sure we have not blindly trusted?

It’s quite an eye-opener to realize we live life looking forward, focused in a FORWARD MOTION.  Think about this for a moment.  We wake up each day, brush our teeth, put on our shoes, dress, fill our stomachs, grab our essential baggage, and move to the door to begin our day.  We look “forward” to our day’s plans and to our future.   That was me (and probably you) yesterday.

Yet, on Thursday, when I placed my hand upon the back door to leave for my 10am appointment, I found the door frozen in place.  The handle moved neither UP nor DOWN.  Now, granted, we had recently experienced a bit of trouble with our backdoor handle, but always my husband had been present to fix the lock, allowing us to escape for another day.  It was quite apparent that we had “put off” fixing the door handle until we had no other choice, and yesterday just happened to be THE DAY because not only was I trapped, and locked in, and under house arrest, BUT…………., I was ALONE and totally trapped inside my house because my husband had already left for work.

(Now let me pause and say that thankfully our home is blessed with five doors and not just the one door locked, so I was not Really, Totally Trapped, but my normal leaving pattern was arrested, causing me to think outside the box as I made a quick get-a-way to reach my 10am appointment.) 

At that moment when I grabbed onto the door handle and found it totally immovable, I was suddenly forced to escape my sudden house arrest.  Now, silly as that analogy may be (and I do apologize), still it is chosen to say this:  We, who have given our hearts to Jesus, must also ask ourselves—Have we also given HIM full control, the full reign of our destiny, our full trust, and the full CHARGE of our daily lives?

HAVE WE REALLY?

Trust is precarious.  We either fully trust someone OR someone has done something to cause us to fully loose our trust.  In some relationships, we may not have reached the moment of pure trust, BUT THAT SHOULD NEVER BE SAID ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

When students enter a classroom, they trust their educators to teach them whatever subject is to be taught and prepare them to progress.  Teachers take CHARGE of the lessons to be received, allowing students to move forward to the next level.  Parents enter the time of parenthood much the same way, caring for their children, preparing the children for the day they will step out and take CHARGE of their immediate destiny. Yes, we quickly realized (when we were young adults leaving our homes) that we live life looking forward, focused—-A FORWARD MOTION.  

Would we willingly give ourselves to a teacher we do not first trust?

Would we willingly give our education to a teacher we do not first trust?

Would we willingly give our futures to a teacher we do not first trust?  &

Would we willingly give our destiny to a teacher we do not first trust?

As Christians, we choose to fully trust Jesus, to give ourselves, our understanding, our future, and our eternal destination to the Master Teacher.

David was just like us.  He faced the same decision of trust, of who would be in total charge of his life. King David——who was first shepherd-boy David—–who grew into prophet-anointed David—–who grew into giant-slayer David—–who grew into Saul-chasing David—–who grew into warrior-fighter David—–who grew into soldier-leading David—–who grew into Bathsheba-seeking David—–who grew into Uriah-murdering David—–who grew into repentant-heart David—–who grew and grew and grew into finally he made the decision to be God-following David.  All of this is written to remind us that David was so much human (like us) and not nearly perfect at all; yet, still David is remembered as the man “after God’s own heart.”  David knew what it meant to trust a higher power with his moments, with his days, with his sins, with his battles, with his tomorrows, with his future, with his eternal destiny, and with his EVERYTHING.

David learned how to let go and let GOD TAKE CHARGE of David’s EVERYTHING.

Yet (still) that took time.

Yet (still) that took failures.

Yet (still) that took bad choices.

Yet (still) that took learning to TRUST.

King David learned that the only ONE he REALLY NEEDED—–

To Follow. To Serve. To Turn To. To Pursue. To Believe. To Seek.  &. To Trust——was GOD, the Creator, Provider, and Father of all.

The modern-day band Citizens performs a beautiful melody showing us what David had learned——to “Relent.” We too must learn—–to “Relent.” To follow God with our everything, to let go and let God have His way, to follow Him and to not to lead, to allow God to take charge. Yes, truly, we too must learn to “Relent.”

During a truly difficult period of life when the Philistines had seized him and took him captive for a time, (until David was able to escape), it was David who said these words—–

“You (GOD) have taken account of my wanderings;     put my tears in Your bottle.      Are they not in Your book?     Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;    This I know, that God is for me.    In God, whose word I praise,   In God I have put my trust,   I shall not be afraid.    What can man do to me?    Your vows are binding upon me, O God;    I will render thank offerings to You.    For You have delivered my soul from death,    Indeed my feet from stumbling,    So that I may walk before God.   In the light of the living” (Psalm 56:  8-13).

Let us not remain captured, caught, and relying upon what we “think” we can control, BUT Let us fully trust God. &

Let us fully allow God to take charge. &

Let us make this timely decision today.  Our future awaits.