Entrust

Into your hand I entrust my life;

you will rescue me, O LORD, the faithful God.

Psalm 31:5

 

So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good.

1 Peter 4:19, NET

Entrust your life; entrust your soul.

The Psalmist is in great distress and needs rescue. He chooses to entrust his threatened life to the Lord, the faithful God. Many things can prove “life-threatening.” It depends on where one’s “life” is centered. Job loss can feel life-threatening. The unexpected diagnosis is a threat. The lives of prodigal children seem profoundly threatened to the mother and father who faithfully trained them to know and love God.

No matter who we are or what threatens our lives, we can entrust them to our faithful God.

Peter takes entrusting a step further. The context is still suffering, but he fills it out for us, making it even more relatable. His target audience is those suffering according to God’s will. My mind immediately goes to the extreme example of those I care about who are in prison for their faith. They understand the Psalmist’s prayer as they await sentencing. 

Unrelatable? Perhaps, but let’s stay with Peter for a moment. 

Peter is clear that some suffer according to God’s will. This makes us mad because we want a comfortable God who makes everything easy. But here it is, plain: God’s will includes suffering.

If gold could speak, it would surely cry out about the suffering of the fire that refines it. Clay, if it could talk, would likely tell us of the pain of piercing as the potter uses a sharp knife to create his signature design on its walls. My children, as they grew, literally cried in pain during growth spurts when their bones were growing longer and stronger.

We will suffer, and Peter implies that there is a right way to do it. Entrusting is the way.

We can suffer safely, sure of God, who faithfully creates something new through the pain. Peter urges us not to be surprised but instead entrust ourselves to God. 

But Peter isn’t finished yet. There is something we can do while we suffer as we entrust ourselves to God.

We can do good.

Even when in pain, we can choose good. We can do good. We can trust as we entrust. This is suffering according to the will of God.

In this life, we will have suffering. But when we entrust our lives and souls to a faithful God, even the worst pain can’t stop the joy and the good!

Selah.

Lord, I entrust my life and my soul to You today. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Andrew Moca on Unsplash