How do you Trust God When Everything Around You Says Not To?
The negative views and broadcasts of the news. The focus on the rich, reality stars, name-calling, politics and encouragement of bad behavior in the media. Unemployment, foreclosures, disappointments, senseless murders of children, hurricanes, anger and the struggle of simply living day to day. In these times we live in, so much seems to point to hopelessness and the belief that, “Nothing I do matters.”
Almost weekly, someone (from those with fame and wealth to the everyday Joe who is just getting by) shares their feelings, fears, struggles, and even thoughts of ending it all because their lives are “just too hard to live” with me. Man, I so get that. There have been times where I have even questioned a plan in my life, believed I was standing alone, and considered that a better plan would be for me to quietly pass in my sleep. So many questions seem to go unanswered. So much harm and wrong seems to go unpunished. So much seems to be required of us with a feeling there is not much to gain.
In the midst of it all, as Christians, God asks us to “Be still (translated: “to be struck dumb, not moving, thinking or reacting”) and know He is God.” He asks us to trust Him completely even in the midst of insanity in our lives. For some, telling others to simply trust in the Lord is a help. I have found for most, being told to just trust and be still holds little help and comfort when the rent is due in two hours, a divorce is looming, or a child has just been killed. So why in the world would a loving God leave us with the requirement to trust Him and be still when He knows that life, at times, feels impossible?
Trusting completely is not trusting in a situation, event, person, or thing from God. It is trusting that no matter what I see or don’t see, the wait, the journey, or the insanity, I trust that He is good and will ALWAYS do what is best for me. The bottom line of trust is really coming to terms with the question, “Do I really, really believe that God will always do what is best, loves me more than I could ever love myself, and everything He does or allows is for me best.” That is the question we all have to ask. If we don’t truly believe that then nothing else, including trust, matters.
Hold on. You are not crazy, a loser, or foolish for holding on to Him during this time of insanity. Remember, according to the Word, all that is happening is supposed to happen. The question is can you trust HIM alone in the midst of the insanity knowing that a perfect plan is happening on your behalf. It might not look the way you expect (It won’t), happen in the time you expect (It won’t) or even how you expect (It won’t).
I encourage you as I encourage myself to:
1) Breathe
2) Stop trying to figure things out, make assumptions of why things are happening, or demand that God explain Himself. (As a parent, you don’t have to explain why your pushing your child’s hand away from the stove’s fire. All they need to know, despite not understanding, is that you love them desperately and will do everything for their best)
3) Fight your fear. When we fear, immediately WE feel that WE have to find a way out and control the situation. The hardest thing to do is to say, “Yes, I’m afraid that things will not work out the way I want. However, I will trust that God has totally got this in control and even if it does not come out the way I want, He has got a way of escape and there is something He is doing that I can’t see or understand right now.” Take power from fear. It is impossible to trust God and fear at the
same time.
4) Let go of assumptions and expectations of what your life is SUPPOSED to be and what you’re supposed to have. Maybe He has way more for us than the little box of expectations we have.
5) Remember, our source of love, worth, and acceptance does NOT come from people, places or things. Our identity is in Jesus Christ alone. A job, fame, money, what people think of me etc, certainly impact me, but they have no power over me or who I am because they are not my source.
6) Feel what you feel then try to hold onto the truth. Scream, shout, cuss, cry, ask God all the questions you have and let him know all your feelings. Then listen, be still and allow Him to answer. I know I would be dead if He did not continue to talk to me in my spirit like a two year old. The beauty of relationship.
7) Talk with a SAFE person who will listen and just be there. We all have junk. When we can stop pretending like we have it together, we can relax in knowing we can be ourselves.
Hang in there, my friend. You can do this. Trust the fact that there is a perfect plan in place (Jer. 29:11) and before you were born, He knew exactly how He was going to use your life, the struggles you would have, the greatness that will come from it. We will understand it better at a future time.
You are NOT walking this out alone. I promise you.
your fellow journeyer
Charlotte