We often quote these cliché terms, when we are on a spiritual high or when we are on the other side of the fence asking someone else to trust God. Proverbs 3 vs 5-6 directs us to “Trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not to our own understanding. But in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths.” A verse most of us have committed to memory since childhood, but yet to commit to our hearts. I am not calling you out without calling out myself. But, after a discussion one day with my prayer partners, where one had to seemingly trust God with a life or death decision. And, choosing despite what man says that they would “Trust what God said”. I asked myself, Do I really trust God?
Yes, we say we trust Him. Yes, we pray “I trust you Lord”, We encourage each other to “put all your trust in God”. But do we really trust Him for ourselves? I am not talking to the ones who God says to move and you can move but you decide to be lazy and say “I am trusting God”. That’s a different devotional for another day.
I mean, when your back is against the wall and God says Trust Me. When you are facing a life or death decision and God says Trust Me. When you lose that loved one, but God says Trust Me. After sickness comes at your door even though you declared Psalms 91 all over you and believed that no plague will come nigh. Yet, God says Trust Me. When it’s the 24th hour and a decision is to be made but God says Trust Me. No food in the cupboard but God says Trust Me!
When God seems silent and can’t be traced. Do we panic, do we stray, do we now believe that God is untrustworthy? Or, do we become like Saul and try to make the miracle happen for ourselves (1 Samuel 13). Even when it really doesn’t make any sense, and all the noise says “Do something”. Do we trust with all our heart and lean NOT to our own understanding?
My truthful answer, as embarrassing as it may be. It depends on what it is. I wish I could say I do all the time, but most times and with some things, I panic. I go all into Fix-it-Mode. But the verse did not say in some ways acknowledge HIM. It said in ALL ways. So why do I trust that God can fix this area of my life but not that? The sad part is, at the end of it all, we still have to come back to Him. Sometimes more scarred than if we had trusted Him in the first place. More importantly, God is sovereign and because a situation does not unfold the way we believe it should, does not make Him untrustworthy.
I always joke and say God likes to do last-minute miracles. Just sitting there on His throne waiting till these humans figure out that they can’t do it alone. Just watching and smirking, probably saying to the angels, “Have they figured out yet they need me?” And just in the nick of time when we think all hope is lost, in His time, not ours, He shows up and shows off. I believe, so we will know without a shadow of a doubt it was by God’s grace we made it.
So this re-couragement today is for me just as much as it is for you. Spend some time really digesting Proverbs 3 vs 5-6. Trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not to our own understanding but in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths. Not just reading and committing to memory, but really asking God to illuminate this verse in our lives and show us how we can really and truly TRUST HIM!
Diana Yarde
This is so real and true. We trust God when it us convenient for us, we say it but when circumstances hit that trust goes through the window because we want to take matters into our own hands – in our time and not the Lord’s.
Thanks for reminding us how important those words are.”TRUST GOD ALWAYS “
Matu
Great job.
Peta
If this isn’t the story of my life lol … I’ve definitely had those moments of worry then letting go and seeing God show up. Then I laugh because I know God must have been saying all along to not worry my child. And how He shows up, I know He was working it out all along. Thank you Nicole for this. Another timely reminder for me.
Jacqueline Best
Nikki, my dear, you’ve done it again. I thank God for you, for giving you the vision to start this blog for such a time as this. You have inspired me through these re-couragement posts.
I can’t tell the number of times I have prayed and told God I will trust Him where I can’t trace Him yet situations seem unsolvable and I am in a tail spin it’s a different story. Like you rightly said I go into “fix-it myself mode” making a bigger mess of the situation and then have to go back to Him but I am thankful that God is not like man and He knows me better than I know myself. Thanks for allowing God to use you so mightily. Don’t ever take this for granted. 🙏💞
Jay Gooding
“Trust me where you can’t trace me?” What? 😳 Trust is like faith. For me, these two have been the hardest to do, especially when what I prayed or hoped for was not visible or received within my own timing. I have to admit that I’m still learning how to trust God where I can’t trace Him. What I have found though, is that trust in God develops when my relationship with Him grows. So relationship has been the key to developing my trust where I am unable to trace Him. To know God more, translates into believing His promises and trusting Him more. “Trusting God where you can’t trace Him”, is certainly a process.
Thanks Nikki, for this thought. It’s not only re-couragement for us, your readers, it prompts careful reflection and introspection. These actions are very much required at a time like this.
Geraldine
Nick, it is so easily said than done. I kept going back to God time and time again for and answer to my prayer only to recently I realized that He said from the first pray to trust Him. I did not want to accept that as an answer because I was looking for Him to give me a solution and all would be well, but that’s not how He works. God must get the glory in all things, so I have now accepted that as my answer and working towards trusting Him through the process. Thanks for the encouraging word. It helps.
SheldineR
This is one of those “ouch moments” when we realise how guilty we are, and how so untrusting we can be when things seem to be out of our control. Forgive me God and teach me how to trust you.
Like the chorus goes:-
Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him
How I’ve proven Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus Precious Jesus
OH FOR GRACE TO TRUST YOU MORE. (emphasis here)
OH FOR GRACE TO TRUST YOU MORE.