September 1, 2024

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you;”—Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”—Matthew 6:34 (MSG)

Seeds Planted

Last month I wrote about my family’s move from Nebraska to Washington state, of the precarious blizzard conditions in the last day of our travel, and how God protected us and planted the seeds necessary for me to trust in Him.

I spoke of thanking God not only for what He did for me but what He did in me through this process—the building of trust.

Trust doesn’t happen overnight. Nor do I always pass the test of trusting the Lord in dire situations. I am a work in progress—making headway, I am glad to say.

Which leads me to ask this question:

Lord, How Did My Trust In You Grow Over The Years?

God directed me to His Word—now as He did forty years ago—to consider a cadre of characters—Paul, David, Esther, Ruth, Job, etc., who went about doing what they needed to do and then trusted God with the results.

Sometimes those results ended up being not what we would consider good outcomes.

For example, after Paul’s conversion, he traveled widely, faithfully sharing with others the truth that Jesus loved them and was the Way to eternal life. The outcomes? Three times Paul was beaten. Three times he suffered shipwreck. He was bitten by a poisonous snake. Thrown in prison, shackled in chains.

When I had read these things as a new Christian, I wondered how Paul could have endured all this, and yet continued to share the love of God. And not only endure, but be content in everything. He wrote,

“. . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”—Philippians 4:11-13

At the time I wasn’t aware of the steps I was taking to grow in trust. I only knew the more time I spent reading the Bible, the more my faith grew and the more I could handle stresses, disappointments, heartaches, and trials. In short, all the while I spent in His Word, God was providing role models—men and women who had gone before me—from whom I could learn and mature.

Here are but a few of my takeaways:

What Was the Secret of Which Paul Wrote?

I believe Paul’s secret included several factors.

  • One, Paul cast all his cares on the Lord, knowing God would sustain him—a promise I found in Psalm 55:22.
  • Secondly, Paul concentrated on what God was doing in the moment and didn’t fret about tomorrow, believing God would help him deal with trials as they came—an encouragement from Matthew 6:34.
  • Thirdly, Paul sang and made music from his heart to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:19)
  • Most profoundly, Paul thanked God for everything, as he wrote in Ephesians 5:20: “. . . always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As I have followed Paul’s example, I am stronger, wiser, better equipped to meet life on its own terms. As such—

  • I envision casting my cares on the Lord as stripping the clothes of worry off my body and tossing them into His lap.
  • I turn my eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and as I do so, I am in the moment—not living in tomorrow.
  • I sing songs of praise and worship, not only in church but in the quiet of my heart and home. (Which is a good thing because although I make a joyful noise, it is not exactly what my husband calls a joyful sound.)
  • I do thank God for everything, knowing He doesn’t ask me to be thankful for everything. (I have written a more complete treatise on this concept of giving thanks vs. being thankful in my book, Run in the Path of Peace—the Secret of Being Content No Matter What.)

The Key

BUT . . . the real KEY to trusting the Lord comes from not trusting Him to answer my prayers as I expect but rather to trust He will always do what is best for me. And that He will always carry me through whatever storms rage.

You may ask, “How were Paul’s shipwrecks and imprisonments best for him?”

You will find the answer in the Bible as you read Paul’s letters.

He demonstrated how his trials strengthened him and his faith and drew him closer to God. Paul knew what glory awaited him when he departed from the tribulations of this world and went to his eternal home.

I draw comfort in that promise, as I hope you do.

What is one thing you can do today to grow your trust in God?

Prayer:  Dear Father, thank you for giving us a complete and wonderful instruction manual which includes role models for us to follow in order that we will trust you more and more to do what is best for us, and in the process carry us firmly in your hands. You promise You will never leave us or forsake us. Amen!

Thought for the Day: “The desert is not an oversight in God’s plan but an integral part of [our] growth. . . . God’s goodness is meant to be received in the midst of your pain, not proven by the absence of pain.”  Lina AbuJamra in her Bible study, “Through the Desert”

Following is the link to “Run in the Path of Peace-the Secret of Being Content No Matter What”

ebook is $3.99

https://a.co/d/aW4uSGJ