Tag Archives: trusting God

March 21, 2017 · 5:29 AM

Tough Questions 


I’ve always heard that each one of us are either going through a difficult time, coming out of a difficult time, or are headed for one. Those seasons are a part of life, but that’s exactly what they are – seasons. They don’t last forever. I know that when I’m going through them, it sure feels like it’s never going to end. I start off questioning God as to why I’m going through it, but after a while, when it doesn’t let up, I start questioning God and His intentions. Has He forgotten me? Does He even care? Does He hear me?

David struggled with the same thoughts. I think that’s why we connect with the Psalms so we’ll. David was real. He didn’t hold back what he was thinking. He laid it all out there for God and us to read. How could he be so vulnerable? How could he be so open about what he was thinking and feeling? I don’t know, but I’m glad he did. It let’s me know that I’m not alone in my thoughts and feelings in difficult times. His vulnerability has allowed so many of us to be the same way in front of God.

One of the people who learned to be that way was Asaph. He was one of the top musicians in David’s time. He wrote several of the Psalms. In Psalm 77, he questioned, “Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will He never again be kind to me? Is His unfailing love gone forever? Have His promises permanently failed?” (NLT). Tough questions that I’m sure we all think on difficult times. While he struggled with these questions, he found a solution to them.

In verse 11, he writes, “But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.” he then recalls all that the Lord has done for him and Israel. He remembers that there are seasons and this won’t last forever, but most importantly, He remembers the character of God. He does not forget us. He doesn’t leave us in difficult seasons forever. He is mighty to save, and He will come to your rescue. He’s done it before and He’ll do it again because He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.

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March 6, 2017 · 5:30 AM

The Olive Tree


One of the cool things we got to see on our trip to Israel was the Garden of Gethsemane. It was at the foot of the Mount of Olives just outside of the Old City of Jerusalem. In the garden were several olive trees. The picture you see is one that I took of them. They were huge and were centuries old. These trees have survived droughts, earthquakes, and people taking parts of them because of care takers. They still produce olives to this day.

In Psalm 52:8, David said, “But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love” (NLT). David understood that if he planted himself in God’s house, watered himself with God’s Word, and allowed himself to be cared for by God, he would thrive and produce fruit all the days of his life. He would be able to survive what life threw at him.

We all go through spiritual droughts, have our world shaken, and even have people pick us apart. The question is, “Where are you planted?” Are you planted in the fertile soil of God’s Word? If we want to thrive, even in the toughest times, we must plant ourselves, like David, in God’s house and trust in Him. He will care for you and cause you to keep producing long after everyone else thinks you’re done. 

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February 21, 2017 · 5:00 AM

How God Really Is


One of the things I like to watch for in sports is when a member of one team helps a member of the other team up. It not only shows sportsmanship, it also shows character. Helping others up is important in sports and in life because sooner or later, we all fall down and need a little help up. As Christians, when we fall down, we can expect God to help us up when we fall. He’s not the guy in the sky who’s waiting for you to fall so He can keep you down. He’s holding out His hand to you to help you up.

Psalm 37:23-24 paints this picture and even adds more to what God does for us. It says, “The Lord guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please him. If they fall, they will not stay down, because the Lord will help them up” (GNT). Not only does God help us back up, He also protects us and guides us. Contrary to what so many of us believe, He’s not out to get us. Like a father, He’s wanting to direct us in the right paths, to protect us from dangers and to help us back up.

If you’ve grown up with the idea that God is just waiting for you to mess up so He can send you to Hell, I want you to memorize these verses. They tell the story of a God that loves you and cares for you like a father. He’s out to help you not hurt you. If you need guidance, ask Him for it today. If you need protection, call on His name right now. If you’ve fallen, hold out your hand. He’ll reach down, grab it, and lift you up. That’s how God really is. You can trust Him with your life.

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February 7, 2017 · 5:49 AM

Get Moving


In Exodus 14, the Israelites had left Egypt and were near the Red Sea. When they looked up, they saw Pharaoh and his army quickly approaching. When they realized they were trapped, they panicked. They yelled at Moses and cried out to God for help. I love God’s response to them. He said in verse 13, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!” (NLT) Moses then raised his staff and parted the waters for them to go through.

How many times have we been panicked and have cried out to God for help? I don’t know if I can count that high! I’ve spent many nights begging God for help in desperate situations. I’ve felt hopeless as I’ve cried out needing Him to act on my behalf. I can imagine what they were feeling in that moment. But God’s response to them was not what I expected. “Why are you crying out to me?” God had already told them what to do and where to go.

I wonder how many times God is saying that to us. How many times has He tried to tell us, “Get moving”? How much time have we used on panicked prayers when God is looking for us to have some action? They were at a seemingly dead end, but God still said, “Get moving!” You and I have not come to a greater dead end than they were at. If God told them they could move forward, I believe He’s telling us to move forward. 

There’s a time to pray and a time to act. If God has called you to do something and you’re at a dead end, move forward in the direction He told you to go. Take that step of faith and watch the waters part. God honors big faith. Hold your hands up over the waters that stand before you and your destination, trust God to part them, and move forward. He didn’t call you to a dead end. He called you to see with faith what your eyes cannot see. Trust in His calling and get moving. 

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February 2, 2017 · 5:00 AM

Faith Over Feelings


Everyone of us has had some dark valleys that we’ve walked through. There are those days, months, and years where we just wish we could see a ray of hope. We want to know that we are not alone. That God has a plan. That He hasn’t forgotten us. We want to know that this time won’t last forever. In those times, it’s critical that our faith over rides our feelings. Our feelings interpret circumstances, but our faith dictates them.

I remember walking through a long, dark valley. God spoke to me and said, “I see you where you are. I have not left you or forgotten you. I’m walking with you through this. I am not in front of you or behind you. I’m right beside you.” Those words boosted my faith over my feelings. They reminded me that even when I can’t see or feel God, that He is with me no matter what. When my prayers feel like they’re falling on deaf ears, He hears them because He’s a whisper away. He’s walking with us in the darkness. 

In Psalm 23:4, David gave us some words to remember this truth. He wrote, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me” (NLT). In the valley, our feelings produce fear, but our faith produces peace and reassurance that God has not left us. We don’t have to fear or fret in the valley. God is walking right beside us each step of the way. He has not forgotten us. Trust your faith over your feelings.

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January 16, 2017 · 5:37 AM

Our Guide


If you’ve ever been hiking or mountain climbing, there’s a couple of ways to do it. You can do it on your own or you can have a guide. I’ve tried it both ways, and having a guide is far more enjoyable. When I’ve done it on my own, I didn’t really know the right path, how long it would take, where the best photo ops were, or where good places to take a break were. Having a guide took a lot of stress out of the journey.

Each of us are on a path in life. The truth is, we are all trying to make our own way, but we don’t know if we are on the right path, where to rest, how long it will take, or where the most scenic places are. We make mistakes, go the wrong way, and are often the blind leading the blind through life. We know there has to be a better way, and there is. We can have the Lord as our guide if we’re willing to follow.

Psalm 1:6 says, “The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord” (GNT). With God as our guide, we can trust He knows the right path to take us down, when to have us rest, and where we are going. When I trust my guide, I don’t have to know where exactly I’m going and can enjoy the journey more. I simply follow where the guide leads because He knows the best way. It’s really about trusting the guide to get me where I’m going.

Whatever path you’re on today, stop and ask God to be your guide. Commit to following where He leads. It may not be down the paths you expect, but He knows the best way to get you where He wants to lead you. Trust the guidance you find in Him and in His Word. He’s the one who leads us beside still water and restores our soul. He knows the way we should go. It’s time we walked by faith, trusting in Him and His path to where we’re going.

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December 28, 2016 · 5:53 AM

Testing Your Faith


I used to love the movie “Young Guns”. In high school, my friends and I would quote the TV version often. There’s a scene where Billy the Kid (Emilio Esteves) is leading his band of men back to .Lincoln, Nebraska to finish off their enemy, but the odds are against them 100 to 5. Doc Scurlock (Kiefer Sutherland) figures it out and turns the team away from Billy with the idea of going to Mexico. Billy said, “You’re all scared, and you’re going to fail the test. You have to test yourself everyday, gentlemen. Once you stop testing yourself, you get slow.”

That scene has stuck with me through the years. What was said in those lines is relevant to us spiritually. You have to test your faith every day. Once you stop testing it, you start coasting. Coasting leads to doing nothing. Doing nothing leads to stagnation. Paul was afraid that we would become stagnant in our faith because it’s human nature to sit back, relax, and take it easy. He warned us against it and told us to test our faith.

Paul wrote II Corinthians 13:5, “Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it” (AMPC). How do you do that? Well look at the people of faith in the Bible who tested their faith. David walked onto a battlefield with a giant carrying nothing more than a sling. Peter got out of a boat in a storm to walk on water. Abraham tied his only son to an altar and raised a knife. Each of them were willing to put their faith to the test in impossible situations.

Whatever your battlefield looks like today, don’t be afraid to step out onto it. No matter how loud your storm is, be willing to get out of the boat. Whatever sacrifice God is asking you to make, be willing to climb the mountain without seeing the ram in the thicket. You can’t show the proper fruits of your faith until you do something with your faith. It’s ok to be scared. I’m sure each of those men had some fear, but they pushed passed it and passed the test. What will your story tell about your faith?

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September 26, 2016 · 5:51 AM

First Responses Matter


In Luke 1, two different people are told by the angel Gabriel that something amazing will happen to them. They responded almost identically, yet one was punished and one was praised. One spent the next several months unable to speak, while the other used their voice to praise God. How we respond to the plans God has for us matters. When God first puts them in our heart, they scare us because they seem impossible to accomplish on our own. Through the years, I’ve discovered if God put it in you, it’s impossible to do on your own.

Zechariah was a man who was up in age. He was a faithful servant of God and even served as a priest in the Temple. One day, while performing his duties, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary to burn incense before God. After he entered, Gabriel appeared to him to bring him the message that his wife would become pregnant and have a son. In verse 18, Zechariah responded, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years” (NLT). It seems like a logical question, but it upset Gabriel to the point that he made Zechariah mute until the baby was born.

Mary was a young lady who was engaged to be married. She believed in God, but wasn’t involved in ministry. She was going about her normal business when Gabriel paid a visit to her. He gave her the incredible news that she would become pregnant while still a virgin. In verse 34, she responded, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” Again, this is a logical response to the angel, but this time he wasn’t angry. Instead he gave an explanation. So what was the difference? Their responses are very similar.

One was born out of doubt and one out of faith. One saw the impossibility and questioned God’s ability, while the other’s faith made them curious. Look at their responses again. One wanted proof it would happen and the other wondered how God would accomplish His will. There’s a significant difference, and I think it’s important how we respond to the things God reveals to us. So many times we want proof from Him instead of trusting that He’ll do what He says. I don’t know what God placed in your heart, but I can imagine it’s pretty big. Instead of asking Him for proof, trust Him to do it, and be available as Mary was.

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July 28, 2016 · 5:46 AM

Higher Ways 


The company I work for is constantly making changes in how we do things and what we offer our customers. I remember how early on in my career I would get upset with the higher ups because I didn’t think the changes were good.. I would say things like, “What are they thinking? Why would they do that? Why do they put us in this position? We are the ones who have to face the customers!” As I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve come to learn that those decisions were best for us as a company and for our customers. It turns out they look at everything differently.

I’ve learned to trust their decisions over time, even if I don’t understand them. I could say the same thing about God. There have been changes in my life that I haven’t cared for. Things have happened to me that I didn’t understand. At the time I prayed, “Why God? Why did you let this happen to me? Why did that person have to be taken out of my life? Why am I having to go through this? This doesn’t make any sense to me!” Looking back over my life, I see what God was doing in most cases.

Just like I’ve learned to trust the higher ups at my job, I’ve learned to trust God in situations I don’t understand. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “‘My thoughts,’ says the Lord, ‘are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours’” (GNT). God sees things differently than we do. His thoughts and plans are way above ours. While we are simply looking at a piece of the puzzle, He’s looking at the photo on the box.

He knows how everything in your life needs to fit together. He knows what needs to happen to prepare you for what’s coming in your life. Each of us has a choice to make. We can either question His every move in our life that we don’t like or we can learn to trust that He sees the bigger picture and is working things out for our good. I’m not saying we are going to understand why things happen. We just need to trust that He does and that should be enough. 

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July 18, 2016 · 6:08 AM

Trust In The Lord

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 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. Verse 29 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.

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