Word of the Week -Trust
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He direct your paths and make them straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust defined by Merrian-Webster as: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something;
Biblical Trust is defined as complete surrender and reliance on God. Believe in the reliability and faithfulness of God and His Word; placing confidence in God’s character and acknowledging His promises
In life there is a fine line between fully trusting and trying to control, especially as it relates to our relationship with God and those closest to us. We all generally have a desire to control our environments to some degree for various reasons; the question is whether we are limiting our potential and those around us? I have struggled with this balancing act my entire life and continue to be challenged in this area. The good news is that I have grown a lot in this area but have much more opportunity for growth. I know that the Lord desires for us to overcome this through our walk of faith so that we can live to our full potential and help those around us do the same. Our Lord is trustworthy and deserving of our full trust and faith. He is our good Shepherd who intimately cares for us and desire the best for us. Faith = Trust!
The challenge: Letting go and fully trusting God and others when we don’t understand
The consequences of not fully trusting God and others: The Lord is continuing to show me that I cannot live to my full potential in Christ if I do not trust Him fully in all areas and aspects of my life. Not just the macro but also in the micro. Desiring control in the smaller things of life are indicators that we are not trusting God fully. How do we know if we are trusting fully or not? One good question is how we are making those around us feel? Is our worry and concern creating worry, angst, and anxiety. God’s word is very clear on this topic, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” Matthew 6:34 Don’t get me wrong, I believe whole heartedly that we must take ownership for our responsibilities but trying to control circumstances and people, especially at the micro level is not healthy or productive. God calls us to redirect our energy towards trusting Him and His word and reframing our mindset towards the healthy posture of God’s power and sovereignty, which gives us faith and love, and allows us to live our lives with sound mind and self-control. These are fruits of our connection to Jesus and our faith and trust in Him. “For God did not give us a spirit of fear or timidity (lack of trust), but one of power, love and sound mind”
Trust God and others actively and generously “Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong”. Ephesians 3:17 Faith and trust are a funny thing in that the more we trust God by faith the more capacity we have for trusting God. As we trust God by exercising our faith in Him, He shows up and does miracles, which makes our faith grow and increases our ability to trust Him more. Somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Similarly with people, typically the more we trust people the more they become trustworthy, which allows them to grow, and us to grow in our relationship of trust. The one caveat is that people are not perfect and will let us down from time to time, but trusting generously will reap the most fruit over time vs. trying to manage and control our relationships. We must use our discretion and wisdom in the trust and responsibility quotient but to live to our full potential in Christ we must learn to trust God and others generously. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” 2 Corinthians 9
Serenity Prayer
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make things right If I surrender to His will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with Him Forever in the life to come.
Amen!!!!
Let’s make it a point this week to trust God and others generously and see how God blesses us!
Thanks,
Duane