Do you ever feel like all of your conversations end up coming back to the same topic, so just maaaaybe that’s a topic God wants you to dwell on? That's what it’s felt like for me lately with the call to trust God. It feels like every sermon, conversation, devotional, and song I’m around all somehow relate to trusting God. It can sound so simple when I read about trusting Him in His Word, but when I actually take the steps to trust Him in the minutiae of my daily life, it becomes hard and vulnerable. Lately I’ve been noticing how important trust is in the everyday moments God allows our ways.
Having a hard time controlling what I say? I don’t trust that God will truly take care of the needs around me so I try to take care of everything myself.
Feeling fear of missing out on friendships and opportunities? I don’t trust that God will truly take care of me, as a loving Father tends to His own children (see Psalm 23 and Romans 8:14-17)
Frustrated with my husband’s decisions or struggling to submit to his leadership? I need to trust that God has designed marriage in the way that is best and will best glorify Him.
Feeling less-than pretty/smart/fill-in-the-blank compared to those around me? I need to trust that God has fashioned me in His image and with a purpose for His glory and plan (see Psalm 139:14, Romans 8)
Our struggles and fears often reveal a lack of trust in God and lack of focus on His glory. When we truly seek the Father’s glory, we are freed from relying on ourselves and trusting in ourselves but are instead fully focused on Him.
I love how today’s passage states that the individuals specifically recognized in God’s Word for their faith did not see the results they were working toward. In today’s day and age, they might seem like failures for a lack of the fruit they were expecting to see in their ministries. However, God was creating His will and weaving His purpose and intent into each faithful moment of their lives. They were wholeheartedly devoted to God, and their unabashed trust produced steadfast faith, regardless of the fruit they saw or didn’t see. They loved God more than they loved what they were waiting for, and sought God’s purposes with a trust for His understanding even when it didn’t make sense to them.
Today, let’s take courage from our fellow believers in the faith and allow our “longing for a better country” to turn our eyes and hearts toward the Creator as we seek His glory and purpose.
How can you trust God in one small, tangible way this week? By focusing on God instead of the result, we can foster trust as we abide in Him.
I can trust God by letting my mind focus on Him instead of my to-do list, and trusting that He truly is greater than my heart and knows all things (1 John 3:20). Instead of feeling like I have to always be confessing or always be working out the details of my day, I can trust that He is God and that He has already forgiven me and accomplished the work of salvation. I can rest in Him and allow His Spirit to work His will through me (see 1 John 3:24b)!