"This time you can trust me," Lucy says to Charlie Brown as she holds the football on the ground for him to kick. "See? I have a signed document testifying that I won’t pull it away." Charlie Brown is skeptical at first because Lucy has pulled the ball away every time before, leaving him flat on his back after missing the ball. He looks carefully, however, at the document, then says, "It is signed. A signed document. I guess if you have a signed document in your possession, you can’t go wrong. Maybe this is the year I finally kick that football." With confidence, Charlie Brown runs as fast as he can at the ball. After all, he has a signed document! Of course, just as he approaches the ball and swings his foot forward with everything he's got, Lucy pulls the ball away and Charlie Brown lands flat on his back...again. "Good grief!!!"
Most, if not all of us, have felt betrayed at some time by someone we trusted. Like Lucy, they gave us assurances that sounded good in the moment, perhaps they even offered iron-clad proof that this time would be different, only to disappoint again. The cross reminds us that in a world of broken promises, God has been proven trustworthy. The uncertainties of our Lenten journey are not caused by God's unfaithfulness. Sin clouds our view, it colors our perspective. Our failures, and those of others around us, disappoint us again and again.
The Psalmist, however, reminds us in our text today that God is ever faithful. "Depend on the Lord; trust him, and he will take care of you." There is a written document that affirms this truth...The Bible. But more than that, there is a living document, The Word that became flesh and dwelled among us, Jesus, the Christ. The burden of sin is heavy on this journey to the cross...but let us be reminded, that God has eased that burden through the faithfulness of his Son.
"Wait," the Psalmist said, "and trust the Lord." That is good advice for our Lenten journey.
Jim Abernathy
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