And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Luke 12:25, 31

God keeps gently reminding me to TRUST Him more. TRUST in all things. In all circumstances and situations. He is reminding me in my soul as I am quiet with Him. And He is reminding me with scriptures.

She is not afraid of bad news, her heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:7

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

It seems that often, as Christians, we say we believe or that we Trust in God but our lives do not reflect belief and trust. Our lives are filled with concerns, and wondering about specifics or how it will work out, and worrying over things we have no control over. We worry about the future. We worry about the economy. We worry about our kids. We have all kinds of “what-if” scenarios we play in our head. (Which most what-if scenarios never happen, and even if they did happen, we will find a way to work through them.)

We fret and worry and become anxious over big and small things in our lives. We try to “fix” and change and control and manipulate to get things the way we think they are supposed to be.

Too often we think things or people or circumstances or we should be different, or should be better, or should be further along.

We should not “should-of” ourselves because then we are doubting God’s sovereignty. It is like we are saying, “it should not have happened this way.” We secretly think, God made a mistake.

We must choose to believe that life is exactly as it should be, because this is how it is.

We must choose to believe that God has got us because He does.

We choose to TRUST in God.

This past weekend as I was walking in silence with God, He reminded me that I trust Him in whatever the circumstance and He is with me as I move through it, trusting Him to work things out for my good, and making me into the person He wants me to be, as I trust Him.

We choose to live a radical life of FAITH. Faith in God! Even when it does not make sense and we cannot see the way and we have no idea what will happen. (We never know what will happen. We waste our energy worrying about what may happen.)

We must Trust that God will be with us in whatever happens, and He WILL equip, enable, and empower us with what we need to handle it.

If we believe that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, sovereign, in control of all things, we must believe that He knows what is going to happen. Then we must choose to rest in His love and goodness and grace and TRUST that He is with us, and for us, and going ahead of us! So, we do not have to worry or be afraid.

When we stop using our energy to worry, we can use our energy to be present, to make the most of enjoy our life and the people in it. We can choose to see and celebrate the good of what is. We can choose to be thankful for our life and the people in it.

We choose the story we tell ourselves. We choose the thoughts we think. Our brain usually offers us negative, unhelpful, fearful thoughts. We must practice awareness of our thinking. We must watch our thoughts, be onto our brain, and redirect our thinking to Truth. Because the worry thoughts will come and when they do, we can tell our brain, “I hear you, but I am choosing to Trust in God.”

We do not deny our reality. We acknowledge the hard, and the scary, and our humanness to feel the way we feel but we choose not to stay there. We practice self-compassion. We do not judge ourselves or heap shame on ourselves for being where we are. We validate ourselves. We see ourselves. We support ourselves. Even if no one else does. We know our story, and we know God knows and sees and supports us.

How do we come to accept the reality of our lives? How do we come to terms with the choices we’ve made that got us to where we are? By realizing that God is sovereign through it all. God waste nothing. God is using all of our story to make us into who He wants us to become as we Trust Him.

We choose to tell ourselves a new hope-filled story about our life. We stop judging ourselves for the decisions we made and where we are in life.

God is not surprised by what is happening or where we are. God is working for our good whether we see it that way or feel it that way. He really does want good for us and knows we often make choices that do not lead to that goodness. By His grace, we can turn around as many times as we need and move back towards His goodness.  

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

God renews our strength as we TRUST IN HIM! Yes, and Amen!

Keep TRUSTING! Keep seeking! Keep discovering His Way!