Tag Archives: trusting God

June 21, 2016 · 7:47 AM

Trust The Work


I threw out my back this morning to the point that when I moved, it would tense up and bring excruciating pain. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t make it better. After a few hours, a chiropractor was able to come help me. Where I had pain, he pushed. Where it was tense, he massaged. Little by little he was able to help me move. After a while, he was able to help me stand up so I could walk.

After taking a few steps with help, my back would tense up, and I would need to sit back down. We went through this several times over the period of a half hour. Little by little I was taking more steps, but still had the issue where my back would tense up and force me to sit. Finally, the doctor looked at me and said, “The work has been done. What’s happening now is your fear is impeding your progress. You need to trust the work.”

The fear of this pain is crippling me. It’s causing my muscles to tense and locking up my back. It’s a similar process for many Christians. The work of the cross has been done, but our fear often keep us from progressing in our walk with God. We take baby steps, fear takes over, and we fall. In trusting our minds, we fail to trust the work that Jesus did for us. We have to learn to trust what He says over what our mind says.

We know that II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (NLT). Fear is not from God. We cannot allow it to rule in our minds. If we do, our struggle will be long, hard, and painful. God can give us a mind that trusts Him and the work He’s done. We need to ask Him to let us have the mind of Christ, and then we have to trust in the work that’s been done. 

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February 22, 2016 · 5:41 AM

All Things Are Possible

  
I scoff sometimes when I read about Moses. He met with God consistently, he physically saw God, He had the Shekinah glory over the Tabernacle that led them, and there was Manna on the ground every morning. He still found a way to doubt God. When the people were tired of Manna, they whined and complained. God called out to Moses and told him that He would provide meat for a month. Moses immediately thought of the impossibility of the situation instead of the ability of God.

The disciples were in a similar situation. They had been with Jesus for a long time, seen Him heal the blind, cure diseases, and raise the dead. Yet when there was a crowd of hungry people, they looked at a couple of loaves of bread and some fish and saw the impossibility of the situation instead of the ability of Jesus. They projected their abilities and limitations onto Jesus instead of His onto themselves.

You and I find ourselves in the same struggle thousands of years later. God has proven Himself over and over to us. He has answered our prayers, He has opened closed doors, He has changed our life, and has spoken to our heart. Somehow, we still find ways to doubt His ability to come through in the impossible. I have to remind myself what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God” (AMP).

God reminds you and I over and over in scripture that what’s impossible for us is possible for Him. I love His answer to Moses in the situation above. In Numbers 11:23, He asked Moses, “Has my arm lost its power?” (NLT) I believe He’s asking us that today. Has anything changed with who God is? I don’t know what impossible odds you’re facing today or how bad your situation looks. I do know that whatever it is, our God is able to provide. His arm has not lost its power. He specializes in coming through in the impossible. Rely on His ability, not yours.

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January 6, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Fight Or Flight

  
When things go wrong and your world starts to fall apart, it seems everyone is full of advice on where to go and what to do. David faced something similar in Psalm 11. His response was, “I trust in the Lord for protection” (NLT). They thought he should take flight to the mountains for protection. They painted a picture of a world that was collapsing and wanted him to trust in something else for protection instead of God.

David again responded in verse 4, “But the LORD is in his holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.” He knew that no matter what comes our way, God is still on His throne in Heaven. He is still in charge of everything, and nothing happens without His knowledge. David didn’t allow the circumstances around him to move Him from a place of security with the Lord.

When things get hairy, if we don’t take flight, our other natural instinct is to fight. David found his peace in knowing that the Lord provided his protection and that kept him from making the mistake of fighting or taking flight. He knew that God would fight on his behalf. Verse 6 says, “He (God) will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds.” The Lord vindicates the righteous and fights for them.

The next time you find yourself in a situation where you want to fight or take flight, find your peace in trusting God for your protection. Don’t listen to those who would coax you out of that secure place. The only real protection we have is in the Lord. Other options may sound like a good idea in the heat of the moment, so decide now that you won’t take flight from the Lord’s protection or fight a fight that is His.

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October 29, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Peace Through Trust

  
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 time, 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, 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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October 15, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Miracles In The Wilderness

  
There were two instances where Jesus wanted to feed a large crowd. One was a crowd of 5,000 and the other was of 4,000. In both instances, they were away from the city with nowhere to buy food. In Mark 8, we find the story of the 4,000 people who were following Jesus and it says they ran out of food. Jesus had compassion on them and indicated he wanted to feed the mass of people. The disciples were incredulous and asked, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?” (NLT)

They knew that Jesus was looking to them to feed the people. I’m sure the “we” in that sentence had some inflection in it indicating they thought He should be the one finding the food. He was the Son of God after all. But Jesus didn’t waiver. He stayed true to who He has been since the beginning of time. He looked to them for an act of faith. He wanted them to be the ones who looked at an impossible situation and to offer Him something to multiply. 

When their faith saw only the impossibility, He threw them a hint. In verse 5 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” He was looking for them to trust Him with their own bread so He could do what only He could do. He wanted them to see He could perform miracles in the wilderness if they just put what they had in His hands. He didn’t have to be in a lush environment or around a lot of people in a city to perform a miracle. He just needed to be by a few people with enough faith to trust Him with what they had.

You may be in a wilderness right now wondering what God is doing. You may look around you and think you don’t have anything to offer God to take care of the mass of problems in your life. I believe God would say to you what He said to them, “How much bread do you have?” What is your bread that God could multiply? What is it that you can offer Him in the wilderness that He can multiply? Remember your multiplication tables, anything multiplied by zero is zero. God has to have something from you to multiply. If your faith can’t see what your bread is, ask God to point it out to you like He did with the disciples. Then when you put it in His hands, He’ll perform miracles in your wilderness. 

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September 2, 2015 · 5:30 AM

When God Says No

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:9 (NLT)

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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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July 23, 2015 · 6:45 AM

Turn Worries Into Prayers

What good does worrying do? I’ve fallen victim to its deceit in the past. Worrying does nothing more than occupy your mind with things that will more than likely never happen. It sucks your energy right out of you. It keeps you up at night and cause you to lose the peace you once had. It creates a vicious cycle of “what ifs” that make you believe all is lost and there is no hope. Worry is not from God and we shouldn’t let it make its home in our minds. We need to guard against it with all the power in us.

When you’re constantly dwelling on difficulties or troubles, you cannot think of the answer. When your mind is consumed by fear, you cannot know the peace of God. Worry is a tactic that is designed to minimize the faith you have in God. The more you worry, the less you trust God. You either think He can’t handle it or that you can resolve whatever the problem is in your own strength. Either way, you rely more on yourself and less on the God who knows when a sparrow falls to the ground. 

There is nothing going on in your life that He doesn’t know about. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says, “Don’t worry about everyday life. (NLT)” He goes on to say in verse 32, “These things (worries) dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but YOUR Heavenly Father already knows ALL of your needs.” As a believer, worry has no place in your mind. This passage of scripture makes it clear that it is pointless and a waste of time and energy. 

What good does praying do? Praying takes your mind off of your problems and focuses on the One who has the power to change your situation. So much of our energy is wasted on things we can’t change. We need to focus that energy in prayer and in reading God’s Word. The more we focus on how big our God is, the smaller our problems become. The more time we spend in prayer over our problems, the more energy we have as well as clarity in the situation.

I love how Paul told us to deal with worry in Philippians 4:6-7. He wrote, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (MSG)” When we start praying instead of worrying, our lives become more balanced because we put Christ there where He belongs.

Turn your worries into prayers. Take what you can’t control and give it to the One who is in control of everything. There is a peace that God gives the surpasses our understand. No matter what is going on in your life, God can give you peace in the middle of it. You are His most precious creation and He cares deeply about what you’re going through. Give it to Him and let Him handle what you can’t. You’ll find a peace that doesn’t make sense in your situation and you’ll have the clarity of mind to follow the path God will show you. 

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June 11, 2015 · 7:19 AM

Quit Playing It Safe

I once had a boss whose favorite question to ask in an interview was, “Tell me a time when you took a risk. Did it pay off or not?” I asked him about it one time and he said, “I don’t want people working for me who are afraid to take risks. I’d rather have someone on my team who has taken a risk and failed miserably than someone who was too scared to even take a risk in the first place. At least the person who took a risk learned something. The one who has never taken a risk will never change his results because he’s too scared to try something new.”

He helped me to understand that taking risks is a Godly trait. Each time you or I step out in faith, it’s a risk. Will God step out and move on my behalf or will I fall on my face? We don’t know, but God asks us to do it anyway. I’ve seen God ask someone to take a huge risk and then allow them to fail. It sounds weird at first, but God needed them in a place of failure to be able to grow them beyond what the risk could have ever offered. His reward for their risk was delayed.

When you risk it all for God’s sake, you put yourself in a place that is totally dependent on God. Your risk speaks volumes to God. It says, “I’m not satisfied with what I’m producing for you. I want to do more for the Kingdom and I’m willing to risk what I have for a chance to offer you more.” It’s in those moments that your faith grows and produces more than it ever has. If you fall on your face, you let God know you’re not going to play it safe. If He catches you, the rewards are eternal.

There’s a difference in taking a risk and making a calculated move. If you’ve got a 90% chance of success, that’s not really much of a risk. It’s a calculated decision made to look like faith. God is looking for those who are willing to go all in and risk it all for His Kingdom. In Matthew 25, he gave three different people three different amounts of talents. To the one who risked nothing because he was afraid, the master said, “That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? (MSG)”

Later on He said, “Get rid of this play-it-safe who won’t go out on a limb. (MSG)” God gets angry when we live life with the goal of arriving in Heaven safely with no bumps or bruises. He put the desire for risk in each one of us. We can either take a risk or allow fear to cause us to play it safe. If you know the parable I’m referring to, the ones who risked it all stayed with the master, but the one who risked nothing was cast into darkness. God calls us to live by faith, not by sight. What risks have you taken for His sake? What is He asking you to risk right now?

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May 13, 2015 · 7:35 AM

Let Go And Let God

  

I’m sure you’ve seen Newton’s Cradle on someone’s desk somewhere. If you’ve seen it, you’ve pulled back one of the silver balls and let it go. The ball you pulled back and let go smashes into the first ball, which doesn’t move, but transfers the energy to the next ball and so on until it reaches the farthest ball. That ball then swings out like a pendulum and returns to start the process over again. They’re a lot of fun to play with, but they also represent so many of us in our faith.

When it’s just sitting there on someone’s desk not being used, it’s just for show. It might get used every once in a while, but more often than not, it just collects dust. So many people show up to church and sit there collecting dust. They don’t move, they don’t transfer energy or shine. They go for nothing more than to see and be seen. They feel that they’ll get to Heaven because they went to church or that their kids will learn good morals. A church should not be a place to collect dust. It’s a place to knock off the rust, and send you out into the world with kinetic energy that moves other people.

There are many Christians who are like the picture above. They have been pulled back and are ready to be released to do God’s work, but they’re afraid to let go. That’s nothing more than wasted potential. I understand the need to be in control. I’m a control freak myself, but if you are ever going to do anything great for God, you have got to let go and let God work through you. Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” 

You’re committed when you let go because you take your potential out of your hand and place it in God’s. He is the one who will accomplish the work. It’s easy to be frightened by looking at what our potential is in God’s Kingdom. We pull back the ball to start the chain reaction, but hold onto it out of fear. We never release ourselves fully into God’s control. So much of what God wants to accomplish is thwarted by our inability to let go and trust Him. We look at our strength and our abilities instead of His. 

Phillip Brooks, who was an Episcopal bishop in the 1800’s, said, “Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.”  It’s time we quit looking at our potential energy in the Kingdom and released ourselves to do God’s work. It’s time we quit talking about what God has called us to do and started doing it. Until we let go, we will not release others to do what they’ve been called to do. Remember, when you let go, you engage others and release them to move in God’s Kingdom. It’s not just about your potential, but about releasing others to meet theirs.

*The concept and training of motivating people from their potential energy to their kinesthetic energy belongs to Trinfinity. Used with permission. 

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