Trust Your Guide

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.”

– Isaiah 26:3, NKJV

David Brown runs the 100-meter dash. He is the world record holder for his division in the sport. And David is blind.

Guided by a 6-inch tether connecting him to his guide, Jerome Avery, the two seem unstoppable for the Summer Paralympic Games next month in Tokyo.

Their success is partly because of their skill and athletic ability, of course. But let’s not discount the intimate full reliance David must have on Jerome to make it from starter pistol to finish-line ribbon.

Imagine two tethered sprinters with talent but no trust. A fraction of a second of hesitation would throw them out of sync. If he does not trust the guide who knows what is ahead, he will not cross the finish line and he will experience unnecessary pain.

Similarly, if we do not fully rely on the Holy Spirit, the result is disastrous. God’s Spirit uses peace (or the absence of peace) to let us know when we’re on the wrong track, need to shift lanes, bow out or break away toward the finish line.

Running, falling, getting up with a better understanding of subtle cues, and running again -- that is what we are doing in our spiritual lives.

A Runner’s World report on Brown and Avery, says, “Like many things, the only way to really get good at it is to do it over and over again.” The victorious runners are fused together in spirit, with a trust and intuition that comes from time together. Running, falling, getting up with a better understanding of subtle cues, and running some more -- that is what we are doing in our spiritual lives.

We flow with His Spirit, receive life from Him through prayer and the Word, and reside in His presence. Through repetition and experiential knowledge, we learn to trust – often by falling when we don’t obey. We prove our trust in God by keeping our mind’s focus and our faith on Him and Him alone; Even when – especially when we cannot see what is in front of us.