How to [Sincerely] Trust God
"Finding God moment by revelatory moment in the sacred and mundane, in triumph and tragedy, and living praise erupting from that is what we were made for." -David Crowder
We were made to seek God, and this pursuit of Him and His plan for our lives can often become frightening and uncertain. I often find myself wondering, "How do I trust God when I have no idea what He wants for my future, for my family, for my {future} husband?"
In these moments when I start becoming fearful, I often think of riding in the backseat of my mom's car when I was a kid. I was always confident that my parents would drive me safely to exactly the right place, so I would often fall asleep instantly. There was no doubt that they would care for me, regardless if I was asleep or awake, happy or sad, comfortable or uncomfortable.
Let me reemphasize this: I had no doubt that my parents always have my best interests at heart and would never do anything to harm me.
[pullquote width="300" float="left"]"Faith is the art of holding on to things, despite your changing moods." -C.S. Lewis[/pullquote]
As C.S. Lewis wrote, faith is holding on to things, despite your changing moods. Trust is confidently acknowledging God has your best interests at heart, despite what you think of His plan or even what you imagine your life should turn out to be like.
One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 37. I was reading it this morning and discovered a simple list that helped me rethink the process of trusting God [think of a self-help book entitled "How to Trust God for Dummies"].
This psalm essentially provides five steps toward a beautiful shared trust between believers and God, a simple calling to seek Him faithfully, and believing He will provide all your needs and prepare your future:
- Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness: be still and live in the present - wherever you are, be all there. Practice faithfulness, striving to stay in the now, not being distracted by the future and past, because we're only guaranteed today.
- Delight in the Lord: find joy in the gifts God gives you every day {in a beautiful cloudless sky, an amazing family, a good friend, coffee and dessert after a meal at your favorite restaurant} and see Him in your daily life. Allowing yourself this joy and happiness from Him alone will help you as you grow to trust in him with bigger things in your life.
- Commit your way to God: allow God to take the lead in all aspects of your life, even the aspects that you don't want to give up the reigns to yet. Seek Him first and foremost, and everything else will fall into place in your life.
- Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him: be patient and wait, training yourself out of the "instant gratification" thought process. God works in His perfect timing, because there is a season for everything.
- Fret not yourself...: this one is easy to sum up: STOP WORRYING. Don't allow thoughts and fears you to consume you. Be confident in the God that created the world; a God who loves you and has the best possible plan laid out for you.
This week, let's trust God a little more with everything in our lives by being grateful for the little things and finding Him moment by revelatory moment.
-CH