How exactly are we supposed to trust God when things make no sense?
When we can’t figure out what is going on and when we can’t do anything about the people or circumstances around us, how do we trust God then?
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to not lean on our own understanding but instead to trust God and to acknowledge Him in all our ways and then He will direct us.
When life is confusing and chaos abounds around us and when we are at the end of our rope and just can’t figure out what we are supposed to do: we must learn to trust. Sometimes we might be tempted to believe that it is impossible even for God to resolve it, but of course this is not true. God is willing, ready and able!
Even though we are to have faith in God it is not blind faith. He actually does give us evidences of His power, wisdom and ability. And yet, when we trust Him we are not actually trusting the evidences of His past activity in the world, but we are trusting His present goodness and ability. Furthermore, trust actually comes to life when we make a decision of the will to wait, watch and believe that God will do what is needed even though we cannot see how.
As Christ followers we must learn to trust God when we are tired and when we are emotional. We need to trust when we want Him to go faster (and He just won’t) and we need to trust Him when we wish He would do things differently.
You and I have to learn to trust God even in the instances when we know that the mess we are in is from our own making. We need to trust Him to rescue us even though we know He has already given us past help and grace that we sometimes wasted and squandered. We need to trust God when we know that without His help we will surely be undone and defeated. We need to trust God to take care of us because of His holiness and love.
May we embrace the opportunity to trust God, even though we know He might have every “right” to refuse to help us because of our choices, and yet we know He is actually compelled to help us not because of our repeated failures but because of His eternal holy love.
As God grows our faith, we realize that we place our trust in Him not because we have earned it or because we know we will do things perfectly this time. Our trust in God is that He gives grace and help not because we are worthy or deserving of it nor because we have shown our righteousness, wisdom and responsibility but simply because of His glory, goodness and grace.
We must trust as God’s Word declares, that He can and will avail ALL that is needed in His perfect way and timing. Let us trust that God is working radically, supernaturally and miraculously, beyond even what we could even imagine is possible. May we trust that God can do what we cannot do no matter how much we plan or how many resources we have. Praise be to God that He is willing and able to take what is dead, broken and/or intended for evil and raise it up, heal it, transform it, redeem it and use it for our good. Let’s trust Him, He is worthy of it!
Pastor Michael Johnson 