Trustworthy

A few years ago, I got involved with this certain project at work. We were in the process of designing a very large machine, the largest of its kind in the world, in fact. For those that care (probably none of you), it was a 2-crank hot mill crop shear. The machine was going to weigh almost a million pounds, not counting all the extra bits that went along with it. To build something that big, you need some special tools. That was where I came in.

I was tasked with designing a lifting beam (for the layman, a picker-upper thing), for a very large part of the machine, weighing 375,000 pounds (roughly 110 mid-sized cars). It was a fairly simple task, design wise. I was absolutely sure that my design was good, and it was checked by other engineer, which is SOP. I was in the shop the day they put it to the test.

While going through the design, it was always in the back of my mind that the lives of several men would depend on me being correct. That thought jumped to the front of my mind as they lifted the huge assembly off the ground, and overhead to be inserted into the shear. I watched as the men worked around it, completely trusting that the beam would hold, never questioning that it could fail. My heart raced as I watched everything unfold from a distance.

That day changed me. Having someone's life in your hands, and them not even being aware of it, is an incredibly humbling experience.  Those men working on that machine put their complete trust in a flawed, fallible man. I make mistakes, it happens every day. And by God's grace I didn’t make a mistake that day. They stood under that weight with no second thoughts, it was their job and they did it.

Why is it so hard for us to trust God, who never makes mistakes?

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2 ESV