This past Christmas, my sister gifted me a plain metal bracelet with two words stamped on it: trust GOD. I wear it practically every day and it has been a great at-a-glance reminder to do just that. I have walked some tough roads these past few years, trusting God even when life has been hard. I have trusted Him for healing and deliverance for myself and others and He has shown Himself strong. Although I’ve grown in faith, there are still instances when I fail to trust Him completely. I too easily choose to ignore the deeper trust He is calling me to.
It’s not hard for me to know God is good and He has destined great things in and through my life. My faith is strong to believe for answers to the prayers I bring before Him. But as I choose to go to a deeper level of trusting Him, old unsanctified patterns of functioning and thinking are revealed. Fear, bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, pride, failure, to name a few, are willfully concealed well below the surface of where simple trust is found. As I grow with God, He leads me to further trust Him. He nudges me ever deeper to shake off fleshly hindrances to be cleansed to live in greater freedom. While life experiences dictate that I should fear vulnerability, God’s truth assures me of His protective love which never leaves or forsakes me.
And this is very good news! We have not been cast away. In fact, God is ever seeking for us to give our complete devotion to Him. God has made a way for us. Through His son Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been granted complete access to abundant life both here on earth and for eternity. Please take a moment and let the truth of this light up every area of your life. What promise and hope are ours! It is up to us to choose that wisdom. It is up to us to allow Him to mold us and fashion us for His use.
Remember when you were young and fell riding your bike and scraped your knee or leg and it burned so bad? Your Mom wanted to rinse out the scrape but you begged her not to because you knew it would hurt. Full of dirt and gravel, she knew the scrape must be rinsed out for it to be cleaned so it would not become infected. She parented well choosing wisdom, even though she knew it would hurt her child, if only for a moment.
We can be like that child with God. We would rather run from His truth and wisdom to live life our own way, which we think is the easier way. We don’t want to trust God to go past the burn of revealing what is really holding us back from His will being accomplished in us. It’s painful and that triggers our thoughts and excuses: I‘ll have to take the first step. I’ll have to admit I was wrong. What if they reject me? They’re always succeeding. It’s so unfair. What if I step out again and fail? I’ll never be able to accomplish that. Instead, we need to choose God’s way, remembering in faith how He has loved us. We need to capture those contrary thoughts and replace them with God’s truth:
How He has delivered us and provided for us.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
How He has always been the source of immeasurable wisdom, peace and joy for our journey.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. Proverbs 3:7-9
How He has miraculously sustained us and moved mountains to accomplish it.
Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. Proverbs 3:10
Lasting freedom begins with a complete surrender to Jesus Christ. Willingly coming to Him confessing our sins, which includes admitting we are helpless to live a victorious life without Him. As Christ followers, our aim is to trust Him to completely work in us the redemptive work started at salvation. We are privileged to be given this partnership with God, built on a foundation of trust, which says we need God, and without Him we are nothing.
Yes-not always easy but always yes and amen!
Thank you Terry for the reminder to trust, no matter, in Him.