The Trust Factor

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (New International Version)

Who can we look to for joy, peace, and hope? God! How can we have the joy, peace, and hope He offers us by the power of His Spirit? It is the result of trusting in Him. Believing Him, obeying Him, resting in Him, abiding in Him, relying upon Him….trusting Him. When am I not trusting Him? When I am trying to figure things out for myself with my limited knowledge and understanding. When I am holding on to the past instead of embracing His forgiveness. When I am placing my hope and expectation for satisfaction in anything or anyone other than Him. When I am living under the weight of my own perceptions. When I am harboring thoughts of worry, discord, and fear. When I am out of sorts with fellow believers. What is the red flag that I am not trusting Him? A lack of joy, peace, and hope.

Last night, in the course of a phone conversation, a friend shared a verse with me that took on a whole new meaning for me. It was a verse that is so familiar to me that I could say it in my sleep and yet I have limited its power and truth. The verse is Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” I use to see this as a necessary verse for times when I needed direction in life. Times when I did not know what to do. It was for times when I needed to cry out, “Lord, show me what to do!” I am not minimizing the importance of doing so but God is certainly broadening my scope of interpretation.

I instantly saw the “leaning on my own understanding” in the area of relationships. My understanding many times is based on my perceptions and what I think! The problem is that often my thinking is distorted and my perceptions are skewed. If I am not careful and discerning, past experiences, failure, and circumstances have a way of clouding and coloring my present world . What I think is true is based on my emotions, feelings, longings, prejudices, observations, and interpretations. Add to that a sense of insignificance and insecurity and my “understanding” is pitiful at best. If I live according to my understanding it gets me into trouble every time.

So where does trusting God come in? What does trusting God look like? I am to trust in the fact that He knows all things clearly. He will work all things out for my good. He will supply all my needs. He knows what is best for me. He loves me unconditionally, passionately, and always. My understanding cannot possibly come close to comparing with that!

Father, help me to see the moment I go from trusting You to trusting in my own understanding. In the times when I think I have it all figured out, help me to see I don‘t. It is Your joy, peace, and hope I want and will have as I trust You. Amen.

You Are My Hiding Place - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zej__yFPeK0

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.