if you can't trust god...
"Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." —Matthew 6:8
Lent is a time of trust-testing and trust-building, a time for imitating Jesus led by the Spirit into the desert and tested by the devil (Mt 4:1). Jesus had just been baptized in the Jordan when He heard the Father's voice: "You are My beloved Son" (see Mt 3:17). Satan immediately tempted Jesus to doubt His Father. The devil began: "If you are the Son of God..." (Mt 4:3). Jesus overcame these temptations and trusted His Father. He teaches us to do the same.
In the Lord's prayer, Jesus teaches us to call God "Abba," Dad, Father (Mt 6:9), our first baby word of trust. We are commanded to pray only for today's bread (Mt 6:11). We don't need to worry about tomorrow (Mt 6:34); we can trust our Father. We can even have peace that the Lord will protect us and not subject us "to the trial," the temptation at the end of the world (Mt 6:13).
We must overcome the devil's temptations to doubt our Father. Through prayer time and Lenten time, we can come to have a deep trust in Abba — a trust that will transform our lives and give us confidence even in the face of death.
Prayer: Father, may I trust You more than myself or any other person (Ps 118:8-9).
Promise: "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but shall do My will, achieving the end for which I sent it." —Is 55:11
Praise: In times of great trial and stress, Wanda cries out to God, "Daddy, I need you!" and comes to know the enveloping love of the Father.
Reference: (To grow in trust of God, read the Bible every day. A tape series that may help you is An Introduction to each Book of the Bible. It is thirty-two audio tapes starting with AV21-1, Matthew and Mark, or seventeen video tapes starting with V-21.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Giles H. Pater, August 18 8, 2004
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 23, 2004