When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. – Psalm 56:3
I don’t think there is anything harder than standing strong in your faith when your knees are shaking, It is not easy to be resolved to “wait and see what the Lord has done for you” when all you may want to do is hide under the covers.
This approach of hiding my head in the sand is one I often took before realizing that running to God and not away from him was the key to putting things right.
Being a Christian is not about always having it all together. It is about knowing who to turn to when things are falling apart. This world is rough sometimes and as a result, you may feel as if you are freefalling to your doom.
When this happens, instead of sinking into depression, look up and keep your eyes fixed on God and freefall into the arms of the one who knows and loves you best.
He loves you and has not left you. He has a hope and plan for your life. If you want to see those plans come to fruition then you must trust him.
When fear comes banging on your door, get alone with God and pour out your heart to him. Then get in the word and allow him to pour out his heart to you.
Trusting God does not come easy at first but as you begin to continually see his faithfulness it will soon become as easy as falling off a log:)
Imagine that you are riding atop a beautiful, strong, trustworthy, and brave horse that is carrying you to parts unknown. Try and picture your hands, as you sit atop the horse.
What are they doing? Holding the reins, right? Now imagine that they are folded in your lap as the horse has no reins but is controlled instead by an unseen force.
If you are like me, the thought of riding such a horse makes you more than a bit uncomfortable.
Yet, as a Christian, you will occasionally have the opportunity to ride on such a horse.
Wait, scratch that.
As a Christian, you are always traveling on such a horse as you journey through this life. Yet, that fact is easy to forget because life has a way of lulling you into this false sense of security in believing that you are walking a path of your own choosing, with God as kind of your sidekick.
Yet we know the opposite is true. For the Bible says that.
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
(Proverbs 16:9)
Or in other words…God is in control.
So when you next find yourself startled into the realization that you are sitting atop a horse with no reins, don’t panic. Instead look around and enjoy the view. And know that though you may not know exactly what the future has in store, you can be assured that God does and will lead you to exactly where you need to be.
(Ezekiel 20:7 ESV)
It should be simple right? Give your life to God and then float along on a cloud until you depart this earth to be with Him in heaven. And it makes sense. God, after all, lead his people with a cloud (Exodus 13:21) so why wouldn’t he allow us to ride on one while he blows it, and us, across the finish line.
It should be simple, yet winds of change can often, and sometimes too easily, (and violently) knock us off our clouds and cause us to become disillusioned with God.
But here is the thing, we were never meant to become cloud-sitters. We were called to be cloud-followers.
Yet this is not always easy. Take for instance God’s own chosen people. He chose them and yet
While living in Egypt, the Jews began secretly to worship the gods of the Egyptians… When God opened the way for Israel to leave Egypt, some of the Jews took their Egyptian gods with them! God had sworn by an oath (“lifted up my hand”)7 that He was Israel’s God (v. 5) and that He would set them free and give them the Promised Land (v. 6). The true God set them free, but they carried false gods with them!1
He chose them, swearing an oath to them, and they, in turn, chose to trust in false Gods.
Who will you choose to follow today?
God says,
“STOP putting all your trust in your friends, your bank account, your abilities, your plans and your schemes, or even your newspaper and START trusting me, for I alone am able to make your path straight. It is NOT about what you see in front of you. Look up and trust that I, the God of the Universe, who sees the end from the beginning, know what doors need to be opened for you and which doors need to remain tightly shut. You are here for such a short time, make the most of it by putting fully your faith in me alone and see what I will do through you. I will not fail you!”
Choosing to trust God when it is hard is not, by definition, easy, but as you make the choice every day to follow him it will get easier and easier, until the day it almost seems as easy as floating on a cloud.
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1. Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Reverent, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor/Cook Communications, 2000), 93.
I Am Trusting God 