faith

I get this daily email, Fresh Manna, that's kind of like a daily devotional. Here's the verse for today:

Heb 6:10-12 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

When I read that verse, my head typically rushes straight to ideas of how to be a better christian, how to make my faith more evident to those around me, how to make sure that everything i do is for the kingdom, etc. I need to be diligent. I need to have huge plans and make sure that everything I do is going in the right direction. I feel like if I don't know the purpose and reason behind everything i do and everything that happens to me, then I must be off the path or headed in the wrong direction. But then the email slowed me down. The author tells a story about a guy who had great aspirations of ministering, but then the moment something in life went wrong, he freaked out and left his faith behind. The author says that it's all about the basics. We need to show we can be faithful in the little stuff - not just because it's the basics, but because it builds our foundation. How can we expect ourselves to demonstrate solid faith if we haven't been able to commit to having regular times with God? It was a good reminder to start with the little things, and then in time, we'll be entrusted with more.

The other related lesson the author wrote about was trusting that God has a plan for us, even if and when we can't see it. Here's the poem he quoted, which helped me wrap my mind around that blind trust. If i can't even unfold a rosebud without hurting it, why do I think i'm going to be able to unfold my life on my own?

Unfolding the Rosebud
It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
God opens this flower so sweetly,
When in my hands they fade and die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God's design,
Then how can I think I have wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?
So I'll trust in Him for His leading
Each moment of every day.
I will look to him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.
The pathway that lies before me,
Only my Heavenly Father knows.
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.

I thought it was a cool way of thinking of trust in God.