Saturday, February 1, was a full day, so while I was aware of the Columbia disaster and followed the story somewhat, the only biographical information I caught during the day was of the Israeli pilot. Only well into the evening did I hear a rundown of the other victims. It was shocking to hear a name that seemed vaguely familiar. I had hung onto a program book that someone sent me a few years ago from my 20^th High School reunion. Sure enough, Commander Rick Husband, whose occupation was listed as "Astronaut" was a member of the 1975 graduating class of Amarillo (Texas) High School. Personally, I remember little more than the name though I believe my twin sister knew him much better.

As Christians, we almost instinctively look for evidences to give us hope about any person who has died. For those who sent in an update for that reunion program booklet, some volunteered brief words of testimony about their personal faith. It was encouraging that Commander Husband simply listed a favorite Bible verse and disclosed a spirit of gratitude for the simple blessings of his life. Proverbs 3:5,6 was an interesting selection for a man who chose and was gifted to pursue a course so different than most of us.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

The core of sin is human pride. Self-sufficiency and self-dependence are celebrated as great virtues when they are, in fact, great folly. We cannot live well independently of God. Prudent living, whatever professional field we pursue, means that we see life through a filter that acknowledges God’s presence, provision and willingness to act in man’s behalf, but according to His own perfect ways.

This text clearly presupposes that God, as one old hymn puts, is the "Fount of every blessing." James calls him the source of "every good and perfect gift" (James1:17). He has made men in His own image and He has revealed Himself in the world that He created. The psalmist declares that it is only the fool who says in his heart, "There is no god" – a fool because he is pridefully denying the evidence around him as well as the evidence planted in every human spirit. God not only requires that we acknowledge His existence but also that we acknowledge our dependence on Him "in all our ways."

Trust in the Lord, not in your own sinful and fallen understanding. God gives the man who acknowledges Him enlightened understanding, but our natural understanding that gives God little or no consideration will only undermine our faith and the course of the life that God wants to bless. Begin every purpose in life with prayer. Know that you are dependent on His support and provision while you work that purpose. And, work in such a way that God’s glory is your chief aim. That will make for a good life, for when we live for the glory of God, then even when He changes our plans, it will be for our good, for we will know that we live to the Lord, and we will die to the Lord. Whatever comes, we are in His hands because we trust Him with all our hearts.

© by R. Karl Crouch, 551 Abbeyville Road, Lancaster, PA 17603