By Daniel Garner
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take” – Proverbs 3: 5-6
“But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through” - Francis Chan, “Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God”
Let's be honest, it can be pretty hard sometimes to let things in our past go, can't it?
Bad mistakes. Terrible decisions. Times we messed up so bad it’s still hard to forgive ourselves for it, much less God Master-O’-Everything-In-Existence-Ever.
But it doesn't matter how we've messed up. It doesn't matter what we've done. What matters is what HE did. How He realized we couldn't save ourselves by ourselves so He sent Himself. How He left His crown in Heaven for a crown of thorns sliced into his scalp on Golgotha. But despite all of that, do we really trust Him, though? Do we trust Him in the fullness of the Lordship of Christ, recognizing the insufficiency of ourselves and total sufficiency of the King?
That total conviction, total truth. That’s what God wants for us. Trust is a call to surrender our life. Our will. Through that we become mighty!
Proverbs chapter 3, verse 5-6 say: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take” (emphasis mine).
We make hundreds of decisions every day. Some of them are puny, some are huge. Whenever we make those decisions, are we consciously consulting God on that decision? Are we totally sure that whatever we decide is His path for us? That’s a toughie to answer sometimes, isn't it? We've all been there. Maybe you had to make one of those decisions today. Or know someone who’s been affected deeply by one. Maybe a broken relationship. Or seeing an inappropriate act at work. Maybe a diesel’s tire blows in the highway lane mere yards ahead of you. Sometimes we’re in such a rush we just react. No time to think, just act. It’s in those instances when trust in the Lord is the most important. If we consciously urge ourselves to pray about decisions, no matter how small, when a really big decision comes our trust in the Lord comes second nature.
God wants us to be successful, because He loves us. He wants us to be happy, too. But He also wants us to be us. Trust means we don’t need to be like someone else. Sometimes it’s really easy to slip into daydreams about being someone else or living someone’s (preferably much more wealthy) lifestyle. Trust means to be what God wants us to be, which is worlds’ more than enough!
Now, it’s easy to say “trust in the Lord” and all that whenever everything we care about in our lives isn't crashing down around us. It’s easy to trust intellectually but it’s a different ball game when it comes to trusting emotionally.
Rough patches in our lives can come pretty unexpectedly. Professionally, personally, relationally, financially, they can all come to the party. There are times that we have to make tough calls and let things go that are close to our hearts or even have to uproot our lives and move to a different area just to continue eating. But, if you force yourself to trust in God and remember that He is in control and hold back an aneurysm, you can come out maybe just a bit wiser. Sometimes there’s an emphasis on the “bit” part but a morsel from God can be a feast to man.
Peace and progress don’t have to move in opposite directions during a rough patch. During trying times are we dictating our future to God, or are we giving it to Him?
Remember: Push for your next breath. Have faith that you can do more with it than your last. Every day is a brand new day, and a chance for a clean slate. Stay strong, stand straight and make your story such a great one that you Great Grandkids will be talking about it. So take ahold of it and create new beginnings every brand new day and live fulfilled in Him!