In all Christian circles, we are told to trust God. Sometimes it is said flippantly; other times some fall back cliche, but even though it is sung like a worn-out song, the Truth is still valid: trust God.
I know how hard it can be to hear those words. Kids are going crazy, the house feels like it is a chaotic wreck, finances are in shambles, and Johnny needs a new pair of shoes.
I’ve walked so many seasons of trial and adversity, you would think that I would be a champ at applying this basic faith principle, but apparently not.
Trust is a lesson best learned on repeat.
You see, here’s the thing: in order for trust to be established in a relationship, the person in question must prove their faithfulness and trustworthiness in handling the heart and protection of the other. In order for this to occur, there must be some kind of trial or struggle that emerges in order for the other person to show their trustworthiness.
As a Christian, this means that in order for God to prove that He is faithful, He has to let us walk through some seriously murky waters.
And then, each time we walk through, cautiously and hopefully looking to Him for His help and comfort to traverse through the treacherous water, He carries us and we come through. He proves Himself to be trustworthy.
We cannot learn to trust God if we do not experience hardship.
I know. We ALL want cushy, comfortable, cozy lives…but God loves us more than encouraging our hedonistic tendencies. He knows that living in a sensual existence would not benefit our eternal souls, and in fact, could lead us astray! He loves us enough to allow challenges to enter into our lives so that we are faced with a choice about on whom or where we are going to place our trust: on things we can see in this world (i.e. bank account, food storage, weapons, politicians, circle of friends, job security, retirement account, etc.) or Him.
The world is going to tell you LOUDLY that if you do not do XYZ then everything is going to collapse into a pile of insanity and you’re going to suffer the apocalyptic future of your failures. It screams that everything is on your shoulders, so you better get up and figure it out!
But, that pushing, pressing, condemning, rushing voice is NOT the voice of Yahweh.
The “I Am.”
Who was. Who is. And who is to come.
He is eternal, never changing, all-powerful, all-knowing, long-suffering, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. He is God.
If God, who loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you, is permitting hard times, do you think that He is doing it without the ability to see you through?
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
God has overcome. We already know the ending, and it is a beautiful ending.
But, in the meantime, we are tried in our faith that it may be proved genuine.
“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
1 Peter 1: 6-7
Trust God. Even when everything is going wrong and it feels like it is all falling apart.
Last year we had five different appliances breakdown. The financial tension and pull of these only four-year-old appliances breaking down back to back stretched and tugged me in a multitude of emotional directions. I just did not understand WHY.
Haven’t we been through enough, Lord? Isn’t four years of poverty sufficient? Why must we endure even more? Don’t I trust You enough?
And, as gentle and loving as ever, He softly whispered back to me: “Apparently not.”
Ouch. Conviction.
He was right. I didn’t. Now that we have stability and normalcy again, I had put more faith in myself and our focus on building up the bank account and its protection for our family than I was putting in God and His ability to watch over and protect us, regardless of what we had in savings.
I knew that this struggle was there, but He wanted me to not only know that I had it but He wanted to help me break through it!
The only way to eliminate fear is to face it, and He made sure that I had to do just that.
As hard as it is, and as much as your flesh will fight tooth and nail, choose to trust God. Look to Him for help and strength with whatever difficulty you are facing, whatever mountain you need to climb; whatever impossibility that He has set before you.
If He has led you to it, He will see you through. I am not promising that it will not be difficult (whoever said following a Savior who was crucified in His innocence was going to be easy?), but I can promise you that it will be worth it. One struggle, one opportunity for Him to prove Himself faithful, one little step of faith at a time.
Trust God. Shalom.
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