We, as Christians, trust in the Lord, right? We believe, we truly KNOW, deep down, that God is in control. That He will work all things for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We accept that God has our best interests and will guide and protect us. Why, then, might we find ourselves struggling with trust?
 
        First, please don’t say this isn’t your challenge. In my experience, we all face the challenge of trust at one time or another. Hear me out. It’s actually funny, because we put our trust in inconsequential things: I believe this chair will hold me, so I sit down. I’ve seen a chair not hold a person and, literally, break beneath them, sending them crashing to the ground. But even after witnessing that, and in the person’s case having it happen, it didn’t stop either of us from trusting in chairs again.
 
        I believe the bank will keep my money safe and treat me with respect. Yet how many people believed this in the 1930’s, or Greece today, to find they were wrong? And yes, we do have the Government backing the implied obligation of the bank today, with the FDIC. But, does a bank always treat you with respect? Just this week I heard a seminar where the example was shared that bank employees were so rude to a person that the person took their money and left. But they didn’t put the money under their mattress or in a safe in their home, but in another bank, again trusting for good customer service.
 
        And we know, we really, truly know, that God can do all things, therefore WE can do all things, through Christ Who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). My question now is, do we live our lives as though this is true?
 
        This is the reason I say I have seen Christians behave like they don’t trust the Lord. Think of some of the bad times you’ve faced: death of loved ones, job loss, financial challenges, just to name a few. I have known good Christian people who have chosen to stop trusting in the Lord because He didn’t save a family member from death. Of course, we don’t have God’s perspective, and I’m guessing, just guessing here, that the Lord’s decision to take a family member home is more about keeping them from suffering than saying ‘no’ to our prayer request. God is simply not capricious. There is a reason He allows things to happen, even bad things.
 
        Job losses are usually terrible times in our lives. The first response is often fear. Fear is a lack of trust. When we are truly trusting the Lord, we won’t be afraid that people in our lives will disrespect us for the job loss. We won’t fear the bills that will continue to come. We won’t be afraid that we’ll never find another position. Now, the job may not come in our timing or the form we want, but in truth, I’ve seen jobs arrive, seemingly out of no where, better than what a person previously had. And after the fact, the comment I often hear is, “I don’t know why I was worried.” Worry is another form of fear. Therefore worry is another form of not trusting the Lord.
 
        Financial challenges don’t come to everyone. They seem to come to me with amazing consistency, but even my challenges, others have pointed out, are what they call First World Challenges. My financial challenge may be not having money to immediately repair something in my house or car. Definitely challenges, but my children are not going without clothes and I do have food in my refrigerator. I know the Lord will supply all my needs, according to His riches in heaven (Philippians 4:19). So why, why do I fret and stress and allow angst in my mind, in my heart, and to leak into my thoughts and even speech?
 
        By definition, trust is the “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something” (Dictionary.com). I have a firm belief that God is reliable. He is Who He says He is! I have a strong belief that He has the ability and strength to make good on every one of the 3,573 promises in the Bible (Bibleinfo.com). I believe that He has my best interest at heart, as He says in Jeremiah 29:11.
 
        Let’s look at this verse for a minute: “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for you to prosper and have a future and a hope.” The first person singular word there, the word I, refers to the Lord. HE knows the plans HE has for you. That means you may not. In many cases, you do not. I do not. I have lots of ideas and plans for me, but those may or may not mesh with the Lord’s plans for me. His plans are for me to prosper. Well, so are mine. But because Yahweh is omniscient, His ideas are sure to be better than mine.
 
        I have an example. My youngest son starts college this fall. Being a divorced mom, there is not much money at the moment. His tuition is due in a few months, and here I am, praying and planning. Well, my plans included looking for loans and getting another job – typical human responses to financial crunches. Out of the blue, my son received a letter with a scholarship in it. It isn’t enough to cover all his expenses, but it helps a lot! The Lord’s way was far superior to my human ideas. Wow.
 
        So when Jeremiah tells us the Lord has great plans for us, we need to listen, trust, and sit back and relax. Hard to do, right? So, how do we show our trust? Same basic ways we’ve seen before. First, prayer. Commit your ways to the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “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.”
 
        We need to 1) Trust in the Lord, 2) Stop trusting in ourselves, and 3) Acknowledge (submit to) Him in ALL our ways. There are three very specific steps we can take immediately. And, even better, this Scripture comes with a promise, that “He will make your paths straight.” That means no curves in the road for you. I like it when I can look ahead and see what’s coming. It helps me prepare and simply makes it easier to trust and obey.
 
        Jeremiah also tells us that when we trust and have confidence in the Lord, we will be blessed (17:7a). Just making a decision to trust, acknowledging that God really does have our backs and nothing horrendous is going to happen to us, is enough to remove weight from my shoulders. On top of that, a blessing is coming.
 
        So prayer is step one. Second, make sure you are in your Bible every day. There are Bibles available online if you don’t want to carry one. You can download one to your phone, pad, tablet, computer. I think this may be as close as we choose to get to “writing it on our foreheads” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19 and Ezekiel 3:8-9) in our 21st century world.
 
        In the Word, you will find valuable treasures, such as “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”” Psalm 91:2; and “In God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalm 56:4.
 
        Seriously, what can a mere man do? Our God is all powerful, all knowing, all wonderful, all caring, all perfect. No man, or situation, compares with that. Trust in the Lord, not yourself, your job, or any worldly thing.
 
        What is keeping us from fully and completely relying on the Lord? What is keeping us from KNOWING God is in control? Your circumstances? God knows. Your fear? God knows about that, too. Your past? God was there for all of it, and has already seen your future.
 
        And third, make a decision to Trust the Lord in everything you do. Accept and believe, and live it out, daily.
 
In Christ,
Lindy
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