Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
This week a friend shared a new podcast with me; The Verb with Heather Holleman features ten minute episodes full of encouragement focused on verbs in the Bible. I would 10000/10 recommend listening to this podcast on a drive, on a walk, when you’re cleaning, whenever! One of the episodes I recently listened to was all about trust, and it got me thinking: How much do I trust God? Faith is a matter of trust, and I feel like I have faith. And that’s where I got it all wrong.
Sometimes I determine how much faith I have in God and how much I trust Him by how I’m feeling. I feel like I trust God. I feel good about Him and the things I’m doing for Him. But sometimes when I’m overwhelmed or confused, I’m not sure where I stand with God. I try to take control of my life because if I have control, then I can make sure nothing goes wrong. But when I try to take control of my life, that’s when the fear, the worry, the anxiety start to come along. I start to lean on my own understanding. Do you know how limited our understanding of the world is? If our finite brains could comprehend the infinite knowledge of this world, then there would be no need for God. Relying on our own understanding closes our minds to all that God has planned for us. And what God has planned is so, so good. He always has our best interest in mind.
When I worry, I’m saying to God that I trust Him to take me to Heaven but I don’t trust Him to take care of me here on Earth. And when I focus my eyes on my plan, I take my focus away from God’s plan. But we don’t have to worry or fear. Did you know the phrase “fear not” is in the Bible over 350 times? We can trust in the Lord with all our heart. We don’t need to worry. We don’t need to have everything figured out because God has already planned every single one of our days. I can put my complete confidence in God, and He will never let me down. He will never disappoint me. I can trust Him, and so can you.
We can trust Him because He is all-powerful.
Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17
We can trust Him because He keeps His promises.
God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind.
Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19
We can trust Him because He is all-knowing.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:8
We can trust Him because He loves us.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
It’s time to trust. Just try it. Ask God to meet you in your struggle, for help giving Him control. You can rest knowing you’re in His hands.