So, how are you doing this week ladies? Talking about trust can bring up a lot of anxiety for some of us...especially if we have been deeply wounded by people who were supposed to be safe in our lives. I wanted to share this with you today, while keeping in mind that we are all works in progress. As I mentioned yesterday, this is a process. The more we see God at work in our lives and experience Him delivering us safely to the other side of various circumstances and seasons, the more our trust will build and grow. At the same time, the more we experience and understand how much He truly loves us, the more likely we are to trust Him further and take steps to allow Him into those deeper parts of our hearts.
If this is an area that is especially challenging for you, don't get discouraged and don't give up! He IS worthy of our trust and we can safely expose our hearts to Him...and the amazing thing in my experience, is that He will take the time to walk slowly with us as we navigate what can be a scary road...He is patient and gracious and He doesn't tire out or give up on us. And as we learn to trust Him deeper, we can help others along the way and love on them and extend them grace and patience because of what He has extended to us. Love you my sisters and praying that each one of you has an amazing day and experiences His love and grace for you in a new way today!
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose."
~Romans 8:28
"Trust is not one of my strong suits.
I could try to blame my struggle on not knowing enough trustworthy people, but I know the problem is rooted in me . . . in my desire to protect myself and in my fear of getting hurt or let down. I know that not trusting others is one of my defense mechanisms. Whenever I’m faced with an issue requiring trust, I skip right over it and jump into evaluation mode. I think to myself, “If I can gain a comprehensive knowledge of the problem, perhaps I’ll master it and escape trusting altogether.” (Sounds like a guy named Gideon, doesn’t it?)
My issue with trust isn’t new; my attempts to grow in this area aren’t new either. I’ve studied the word trust thoroughly, but my studies didn’t make me feel much better about trusting. I discovered that trust is about having tremendous confidence in someone or something, depending on someone or something for help. A lovely thought but not very encouraging. I also learned that real trust assumes that the one whom we trust demonstrates a fortified character of honesty, fairness, truthfulness, justice, morality, ethics, and consistency. By this time, if you’re like me, you’re thinking, “There’s no way! No one and nothing is that trustworthy!”
Here’s the conflict: Scripture says that there absolutely is someone that trustworthy. God’s Word calls us to trust in our heavenly Father without reservation, believing that He will sustain us and cause all things to work for our good (Romans 8:28).
My defense mechanism of not trusting others completely backfired when it came to God. You see, there is no stronger defense than Him. He is the answer to my struggle with trust—when I follow His call to trust, I discover that His character is fortified with honesty, fairness, faithfulness, truthfulness, and justice. He is the ultimate example of one who is moral, ethical, and consistent. He is unfaltering. He is dependable. Each time I trust Him, this truth settles deeper in my heart and my struggle with trusting grows less.
May I say today, I have learned that there is absolute freedom, joy, rest, and peace in trusting the sovereign, faithful Lord. I want you to know this freedom, joy, rest, and peace for yourself.
If I can trust God, I bet you can do it too. Come on, take the leap!"
~Colleen Swindoll Thompson, Insight For Living
It never occurred to me before..but in reading this I realized I do have some issues with trust.
ReplyDeleteThe word for the week for me would definitely be TRUST! How timely as there are quite a number of things in my mind that worry me.
Understanding that our tendencies to worry or take matters into our own hands is a reflection of how much we trust God is a first step in addressing our trust issues. You are most certainly not alone in this! We're praying that God would guide you as you seek to understand His heart for you and continue to deepen your trust in Him!
DeleteI have many issues with trust, so much so that I have not been able to give myself to marrage to any man because of my trust issues, see I was molested when my parents passed away at the age of 9yrs old, till I was 13 yrs old, Not to mention my father was a raging alcoholic, abusing my mother and me physically, So trust has bee a long road for me, As I have sought after God for the past 10 yrs now, I am slowly learning that He is trust worthy God, and What I have also discoved that without the trust in God I need I cannot believe what his word says about me, I am unable to forgive others who have wronged me, I have by the Grace of God, come a long way, I can now honestly say, at this point God is the only one I can trust, I have not arrived yet, but pressing on the root out all those things that are not pleasing in his sight, and being renewed day by day, One day at a time, Praise God, for his mercy is new every morning!! thank you Jesus, amen~amen~amen <3
ReplyDeleteWow, Cheryl! We are humbled that you would trust us enough to share your story with us. It's incredible to hear how far God has brought you and we'll continue to hold you up in prayer as you travel on this journey! You're so right...His mercies are new every morning and each day is a new day full of His grace and love! Keep going sister! He is going to use your story for His glory in big ways!
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