Thursday, August 1, 2013

Trust

Trust in The Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Prov. 3:5

Trust in The Lord with all my heart, hmmm do I do this.  Yes on some level, I do trust The Lord but do I fully trust God?  With all my heart?  The word "Trust" indicates a confidence, boldness but I have found myself doubting.  How many times instead of proclaiming something out loud, I hold back, hesitate.  What if it doesn't happen?  What if I say it out loud and then look like a fool?  I mean it has happened, we have all heard the stories of someone declaring that something will happen because they believe that "God" has told them it would happen, then nothing.  Wow, not only do they look foolish, but so do Christians all over.

I think the problem comes with the second part of the verse, "and lean not on your own understanding".   Sometimes, when I pray for things, I find that I also want to provide God with the answer.  You know the kind of prayer, God we pray for healing for so and so, we trust you for that healing and we declare it to be true.

Is that the way God wants us to pray?  I don't think so.  If we trust God, really trust God, then we have to trust him with the outcome, even when that out come looks nothing like what we prayed for.  Even when our Lord, prayed the Lord's Prayer, he said Thy Will Be Done.  That is what we need to trust, God's Will!   Do we trust his will?  Do we trust that God always will do what is best for us?  Even when a loved one is not healed?  Even when the job doesn't come?  Even when the relationship is not restored?  Do we trust Him?  

Jesus had to trust God before his crucifixion, he had to trust God and say "not my will, but thine be done". 

Jesus taught about giving good gifts, good gifts are not always what we want, but what we need.  Did your parents ever give you a gift for your birthday, that was not what you wanted, but was maybe what you needed?   Or did your parents ever not give you wanted because they knew that it was not what was best for you?  Do you remember not understanding why?  Why can't I have a pony?  Why can't I have this or that, and we had to learn to "trust" them?

Every time we trust God when we feel that he did not answer our prayer exactly how we wanted, our faith grows.  And trusting gets a little bit easier.

So next time you pray for something Trust God, trust him boldly, trust Him with confidence.  Not that he will do exactly what we ask, but that our loving Father will do exactly what we need.