Choosing to Trust

Trusting God is a choice that we get to make. No one can make it for us. We can’t make the choice for anyone else. God will never force us to choose Him. It is a personal decision that is between each one of us and God. I definitely struggled with trusting Him when our son died. 

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8

Scripture talks about the blessings we experience when we trust in the Lord. I needed some tangible steps that I could practice that would remind me of God’s goodness, His faithfulness, and His sovereignty thereby strengthening my trust in Him. It isn’t a blind trust. The trust that I have in the Lord today is rooted in who He is and the countless ways that He has blessed me. Even when life is hard, and I don’t understand, God is so so good! 

You already know these things. This is nothing more than a reminder of the steps that we can take that will build our trust in the Lord. I like to call them the 3 P’s – praise, prayer, and promises.

Praise

One of the first ways that we can practice trusting God is by reminding ourselves of all of the blessings that He has lavished down on us. Start writing down all of the reasons that you have for praising God. How has He worked in your life? This one is not easy if you are in the midst of a war. There are times in my life when I have struggled to find reasons to praise God. I had to dig really deep and look really hard to find reasons to praise Him when my heart was shattered. Do you know what I found? When I started looking for reasons to praise Him, I found more reasons to praise Him. Remembering what He has done for us is one of the ways that we can overcome evil. 

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:11

Prayer

Prayer is one of the most powerful avenues that we have for sharing our heart with our Heavenly Father, our Creator. Yes, He knows our heart; however, when we willingly open it to Him, and we are honest with Him, we are showing trust in Him and opening the door for Him to work in our hearts. How often do you talk to God? What kinds of things do you ask Him for? If you ask Him to help you trust Him, He will do it.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Promises

God’s word is full of promises that He has already fulfilled. It is full of wisdom and guidance. It gives us everything we need to run our races well. Tucking those scriptures into our hearts is like adding arrows to a quiver. We can use those words to remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness. When we face something hard, when fear strikes our hearts, nothing will soothe that fear like God’s words. 

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Deuteronomy 11:18

Like the verse in Jeremiah says above, trusting God roots us. It keeps us grounded in His truth. Though the wind blows and the storms come, the roots hold solid and firmly in place. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

This earthly life is not easy. Trusting God brings us peace and clarity when the world feels like it is going to suffocate us. Praying that we can find trust in the Lord and root ourselves completely in Him.