When life is going your way, it is easy to trust God. How do you react when the opposite happens, when life causes your boat to topple around on some stormy water for a lengthy amount of time? You pray, you seek His guidance, you do your best to rely on God as you wait on Him to change your circumstance(s), and you find yourself trying to steady yourself as your boat is rocking about in the never ending wind and rain that is beating down on you. God, where are you? God, do you not see me or hear me?
You know that God is trustworthy. His Word says so. If you stop and think about it, you can see the hand of God in so many areas in your life. But, what happens to your faith when God doesn’t stop the storm of trials to cease? It goes on and on and on and you don’t know when and how God is going to step in to stop it. Will He even?
What heavy burden is God calling you to carry?
Everyone is facing burdens of some kind. God understands this. His Son certainly understands how life gives heavy burdens to bear. He bore the heaviest of them all. Here is what is amazing, He chose to bore the heaviest burden upon Himself. He bore the sins that you and I commit everyday! He did this in the name of love, everlasting love.
Amidst these heavy burdens, God calls you to trust Him. While that seems easy, trusting Him when life is turning out to not be what you expected, the trust piece becomes shaky. Why is this?
Taken from a sermon titled, “Revealed,” by Pastor Mike Ashcroft from Port Church in North Carolina, you and I continually make three assumptions that cause our trusting in God to topple. This makes for a rocky boat ride. “Assumption 1: We know how things work. We plan out what we want to expect from it. We like life to be PREDICTABLE. Assumption 2: We want to be sure that things turn out how they should turn out. We like life to be CERTAIN. Assumption 3: We want to know our efforts will work. We like when we have CONTROL.”
I am guilty on all three accounts. How about you? Pastor Ashcroft also mentioned, “We like to jump to conclusions when really we are just beginning to understand what God is doing.” It is good for us to remember that God is busy revealing Himself to you and I. God allows us to be put in the arena of wrestling so our hearts remain awakened to Him, and in the wrestling, God says, “Trust Me.”
Do you have days where you see God leading you but your flesh just wants to fight Him?
Your faith has gotten weary and tired. You may not be liking where God has you, and your flesh screams, “Enough already!”
From cru.org, in an article titled, “How to Trust God Even in Difficult Times,” you learn, “Trusting God is more than a feeling; it is a choice to have faith in what He says even when your feelings or circumstances would have you believe something different. Your feelings and circumstances matter and are very much worth paying attention to. God cares about them both, but those things alone are not reliable enough to base your life on. They can change at any moment, even in an instant. God, on the other hand, does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow and therefore is worthy of your trust.”
From biblestudytools.com, in an article titled, “Bible Verses About Trusting God,” you read, “God never asks us to figure it all out on our own. He just asks us to trust Him, to recognize His leadership and Sovereignty in our lives. And His promises in Scripture tell us that He makes our pathways straight. There is power when we trust God. Our security and peace can rest on God alone – not our own circumstances, other people, or our own ability. We can believe His Word when He says that He will not leave us nor forsake us. As we read Bible verses, may we regain trust in the One who created us and watches over us. Meditate on Scripture morning and evening and you and I will experience the power of hope!”
Trusting God during stormy trials is what anchors and secures you to Him. God uses His Word and adversities to mature your faith. He nourishes you by His Word as He prunes your flesh away by allowing trials to come. He is molding you into His likeness. Look at John 15:1-17 to see how God prunes His children. Be encouraged by my favorite verse that God has spoken to me throughout my faith journey. Today, I am needing a double portion of it. I am weary from the burden I carry. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, help you, and uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
Even in the trenches of life where you are wondering when God is going to change (a person’s heart, that circumstance, a health diagnosis, etc.), God calls you to stay the course and don’t quit on Him. Keep believing, keep hoping, and trust Jesus. You can do these even when you don’t understand what God is doing. Just know, He is doing something on your behalf. He is making a way for you at this very moment. Don’t let driving rains or howling winds cease your heart from believing that better days are ahead.
A day is coming where Christ in all His glory will make every frustration, every tear, every doubt redeemed by His love. Jesus Christ has defeated all the woes of this world by His blood. Keep looking up and don’t stop believing!
Carol J German 