Isaiah 26:3 “You (God) will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You!”
Proverbs 3:5-6 “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.”
I have lost count of the number of times I have read or have been advised to trust God. When tough times come along and the phrase ‘trust God’ comes out, how should that make us feel? How should we respond? To trust in God I know I need to surrender all to Him. However saying it is completely different to doing it. How do we trust God?
Our trust in God relates directly to our faith in Him. To trust in Him is to exercise faith, and that is a daily challenge. I don’t know about you , but I find myself often attempting to manipulate and control situations to suit my own gain. I think God needs a helping hand. I might try and justify it by saying that this is what God wants for me, or it’s God’s will.
However, I believe trying to obtain a godly goal independently of God is not what God would have for us. It’s in our nature to do things our way – to have things when we want them; to try and control our lives. But I’ve learnt the hard way that to have what we desire independent of God’s guidance and timing brings much pain and anguish to ourselves and others. Sin always has consequences. But what’s worse, is that we rob ourselves of experiencing God’s peace in a close relationship with Him. Our thoughts are not fixed on Him.
I have realised that to have God’s peace in my life I would have to trust in Him in all things. To trust in His judgement and wisdom to know what’s best for me, even if it ends up being very different to what I think is best. To receive from Him what He knows I need in His way and time. I can find myself at times getting so consumed in satisfying myself, that I forget to focus on God’s purpose for myself and trusting in Him with my desires, struggles and direction in life. The key to finding peace is to live for God daily. He created us. He gave us a heart that experience various, and at times, intense emotions. He gave us desires and needs. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He will graciously give us what we need as we submit to Him. It may be different to what we think we need or what we want, but God knows what is best for us. In hindsight we will see the blessings.
However, to know the blessings now would be to take away the challenge and privilege of exercising faith and therefore drawing closer to God. We must not lean on our own understanding, but trust in God with what we encounter in our lives. There may be pain on the way, but that pain is not endured in vain. To experience trials and suffering in God’s will is to know we are living a life of purpose in using our trials as opportunities to trust in God, growing into His likeness, and to experience His peace amidst the angst.
So what do you need to give up to God? With what do you need to trust Him?
To trust in God is to find peace. We can’t find real peace any other way. So let’s not allow the burdens of this world tie us down. Let’s not worry about what tomorrow holds. Let’s not be proud and try to do things our way, but trust in our loving Father to guide and look out for us. He is the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things!
Do you think there is anything He can’t handle?
Jesus said to gain life we must lose it (Matt 10:39). Are you willing to trust in Him in order to experience the eternal life you were created for? It’s an indescribable feeling and peace to hand over all to God.
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