Tag Archives: trust in the lord

June 16, 2021 · 5:52 AM

Life In The Desert

In the mid 1990’s, I moved to Cairo, Egypt. As the plane landed, I looked out the window. I was shocked to see that there wasn’t any grass on the medians between the runway. On the drive to my new home, I was overwhelmed by the sea of tan dirt all around me. The Sahara Desert was my first culture shock having lived in a lush green area of East Texas my whole life. However, over time, I grew used to living in the desert and the lack of green vegetation. Then, early the year after I moved there, I decided to take a bus to Israel. We drove for hours through the desert until we came to the border. As I got out to walk across, I saw the strangest thing ever. All along the border there was a line of grass and flowers in the middle of this desert and it extended into Israel. It was an incredible sight to see life growing in the middle of a barren land.

The reason deserts lack life is because they lack water. Over 90% of Egyptians live along the Nile river because that’s the only way they can sustain life. Sure, there are people who live in the desert, but life is better and more easily sustained where there is water. Even along the Nile, I hadn’t seen what I saw at the border that day. Things were thriving at the border. It reminded me that God is able to do the impossible. He can grow life in the middle of nowhere and in the harshest environments. He is able to take our roughest, driest patches in life and spring up new life. He is able to take what looks like an end and create a new beginning. The desert we’re temporarily living in has the potential for life.

In Isaiah 43:18-19 God says, “Do not remember the former things, Or ponder the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert” (AMP). I believe God is still speaking to us through these verses. The desert you’ve been in is about to burst forth with life. It starts with us forgetting the things of the past that led us into the desert. We need to focus our attention on what God is doing right now in this dry season. He’s creating a pathway forward for you and bringing a river of life to your situation. What has been a barren time for you is about to be teeming with life. God does not abandon us in the desert and He’s able to make a way where there seems to be no way. Trust in Him, don’t lean on your own understanding, acknowledge what He’s doing and He will direct your path through this time (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Photo by danial Sol on Unsplash

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March 9, 2021 · 5:47 AM

Trust Comes First

When I’m talking with someone who is a newly appointed leader, I don’t want to overwhelm them with a bunch of information. There’s really one thing they need to focus on with their new team, and that is trust. Without trust, nothing else really matters. You can give inspiring speeches, set daring goals and create easy to follow plans, but no one will do much until they trust the leader. Think of a leader in your life that has produced the most growth in you. They had your trust I’m sure. You would follow them anywhere they led because of that trust. People will follow any leader to the extent that they trust them. If there’s little to no trust, there will be little to no progress. The way you build trust is to say what you’re going to do, and then do what you said you’d do.

We often think of people as leaders, but the Bible is full of people who followed God and did amazing things. For each of them, there was a period where they learned to trust Him. Moses learned to trust God at the burning bush. He gave all kinds of excuses as to why he couldn’t do what God was asking because there was little to no trust. God answered them all and showed him many signs to build trust so that he could lead the Israelites out of Egypt. In a similar fashion, God had to build trust with Gideon. He was timid and afraid of his enemies when God called the mighty warrior out of him. He built trust by placing dew on his door mat. So much trust was built that Gideon trimmed down an army of 32,000 to 300 men in order to fight 135,000. It didn’t make sense to him, but because of that trust, he was able to lead them to victory.

How much do you trust God? You may not have had a burning bush experience or dew on your mat, but God has been doing things al, your life to build trust with Him. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make” (TPT). Trusting God completely is what we’re called to do, but like Moses, we tend to make excuses as to why we can’t. Or sometimes we’re like Gideon where we don’t see our own potential the way He does. Either way, you can only follow God’s leading in your life to the extent that you trust Him. If you’re not experiencing the growth or movement that you want, check your trust level. God is ready to lead you into a greater life and relationship with Him, but you must trust Him with all your heart first.

Photo by Alan Cabello from Pexels

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September 7, 2018 · 6:04 AM

Trusting In God

I’ve often heard stories of how pilots have to trust their instruments even more than their sight. Many of the plane crashes you hear about are because they didn’t trust the instruments and tried to do what they thought. Their eyes often deceive them and they make decisions based on false information. Great pilots have learned to completely trust their instruments no matter what. They also rely on the person in the control tower for updates and instructions. If they’re going to have a safe flight, they must learn to trust.

To me, being a Christian is a lot like being a pilot. We can’t trust what we see (or can’t see) in this world. Too many of us crash at times because we fail to trust God fully and we try to live our lives based on what we think. We must stay in constant communication with God, and we need to trust that He can see the things we can’t. When we live life fully trusting in God, we make our decisions based on what He says, not what we think. Our eyes can deceive us, but God never will.

Here are some Bible verses on trusting in God.

1. Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.

JOHN 14:1 AMP

2. The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

Hebrews 11:1-2 MSG

3. Commit your works to the LORD [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].

PROVERBS 16:3 AMP

4. You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.

Isaiah 26:3 GNT

5. Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make.

Proverbs 3:5 TPT

Photo by yang miao on Unsplash

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April 5, 2018 · 5:39 AM

Trust In The Lord

Throwback Thursday is a new feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

When I was young, my dad taught me to play chess. I love the strategy of chess, the need to think ahead, and the anticipation of your opponent’s next move. What I don’t like about chess is when my King is on the run, and is being backed into a check mate situation. I don’t really like to lose, and in chess, you can usually see it happen before it does. Being powerless to help in any situation makes me feel a lot like that. I don’t see a way out, so I’m powerless to help. In real life situations, I get weak and tired from worrying about the outcome, especially if I can’t see the way to victory.

Maybe you’ve been there to. You’ve either been in or are in a situation where there’s no clear path to victory. You feel powerless over the outcome, and you’re tired from all the stress and mental exhaustion. When we are tired and mentally exhausted, our immune system grows weaker. We become more susceptible to illness. I think that why in Proverbs 17:22 Solomon wrote, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” (NLT).

I know it can be hard to have a cheerful heart when everything points to your defeat. That’s why I love the promises God gives in Isaiah 40:29 that says, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” It’s in our weakness that God gives His power to us. It’s when we are powerless over the outcome that God gives us the strength to continue. We don’t have to see the outcome 5 moves in advance. We can trust God that His will, will be done. We can trust that whatever comes our way can be used for our good.

If you’re tired, weak, and exhausted from trying to find the solution, give it to God. Lay it down on the altar and give Him control of the outcome. Your worrying about it isn’t going to solve it. He wants to give you strength and the power to handle it though. The final verse in Isaiah 40 reminds us, “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” It starts with putting your trust in the Lord.

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

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July 27, 2017 · 5:11 AM

Peace Through Trust

Throwback Thursday is a new feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.


Life is unpredictable. It’s full of uncertainties, crossroads, and unknowns. When we are facing these things in life, our minds get consumed looking for answers and wondering what tomorrow holds. It can suck the energy right out of you if you let it. I think that’s why Jesus told us in Matthew 6:34, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries” (NLT). He knew that with all of life’s uncertainties, we could easily get wrapped up in all the what if’s of life.

The truth is that even though you and I don’t know what tomorrow holds, God does. And He’s not worried. What is unknown to us is history to Him. He knows how it all plays out and He is in control. No matter what each day brings, we can trust that He has a plan for our lives and a path for us to walk down. Psalm 37:23 says, “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Not only does He direct our lives, He knows all the details that are unknown to us.

Trusting Him in those times is paramount to our peace of mind. Where worry consumes us, His peace frees us. We get peace in uncertainty when we trust that God is in control, that He has a plan for this season, and that He is directing our path. Stress and worry come from thinking we are in control, that God doesn’t care, or that He doesn’t have a plan. He gives you and I the ability to choose in this situation. Do we want to stress or do we want peace through trust? 

I’m reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6 when it comes to trusting God in uncertainty. It says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way” (GNB). The word “trust”, in the original language for this verse, means to feel safe, be careless. In our most difficult times, we can feel safe and be carefree by trusting God. He will direct our path and show us the right way when the time is right. 

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August 18, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Finding New Strength

If you Google the word “exhausted,” you’ll get a definition that says, “Drained of one’s physical or mental resources; very tired.” Does that word describe you right now? Our bodies can be so physically drained that they refuse to get up in the mornings, to lift the heavy objects you want to move, or to get where you need to go. Our mind can get so stressed and drained that it’s hard to care about things or even make an effort in a relationship where one is needed. Exhausted is a dangerous state of being that we need to avoid.

God recognizes that you and I can get exhausted. In Isaiah 40:29 it says, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless” (NLT). The word power in its original context meant ability. The word weak translates as exhausted. So when you read it like that, God gives ability to those who are exhausted. God wants to help us when we’ve lost the ability to accomplish things because we are exhausted, especially the things He’s called us to do.

I can attest to the fact that the work God calls you and I to can be very exhausting mentally and physically. He knows that if we are exhausted, we won’t accomplish His will. The 31st verse tells us, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength” (NLT). We can’t go about the Father’s business in our own strength or mental fortitude if we want to be effective long term. We must trust that God will give us ability where we have none, strength where we are weak, and hope when we are in despair.

God asks us to do things that are beyond our ability so that we will trust Him. He’s interested more in your obedience and willingness than in your strength and intellect. He doesn’t need you in order to accomplish anything, yet He chooses to partner with you to enact His will. If you’re willing to step out in faith and to trust Him, He’s willing to give you the ability and strength you lack. You can be exhausted from doing all your other duties and still have the strength to do what God wants as long as you put your trust in Him.

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