“Trust in the
Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your
ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Do
you ever pray and give something to God feeling pretty confident that He will
take care of the problem and it will just go away? (Okay; that’s called trust!) Of course, that’s an easy solution,
and many times that’s exactly what He does. However, what is your reaction when
He has another plan, and he speaks to you through a devotional or verse
directing your path in a different direction? Does your mind immediately switch
into panic mode? It’s always frightening when God leans in and propels us to
handle a situation that may seem overwhelming, and to step out of our comfort
zone following His lead no matter what. But
the bottom line is…when the Lord calls us to perform or carry out a
difficult situation that seems unreasonable or uncomfortable to us, we really
have two options…
…we
can obey and trust Him even though we would really rather just ignore it…
~or~
…we
can become fearful, independent, or disobedient and attempt to find a way out…
~Trust and Obey~
“For anyone out there who doesn’t know where you’re going, anyone
groping in the dark, here’s what: Trust in God. Lean on your God! (Isaiah 50:10
Message)
There are times in all of our lives when God requires us
to step out into the unknown…to take a leap of faith, or…go out on a limb. And
when we listen and obey, He will guide us in making (and also in resolving),
the most difficult decisions that we have to make. Some of us are reluctant to
trust God completely in solving some of our conflicts and situations, fearing
that He may want to make changes to our perfect plans. But yes; He will make changes! Isn’t it logical
that that the very One who created us knows better than we, and has infinitely
better solutions? Trust and obey…these two words pretty much sum up God’s
purpose for our lives. Trusting makes obedience easier and obedience produces
ever-increasing trust. Obedience really is
a part of trust, and when we refuse to obey it is an act of distrust.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he
trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting
rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4)
How often do we make lists of “pros and cons” or consult
others before finally doing what God has laid on our hearts? How many times
have we said to God that we trust in Him all the while making a back-up plan “B”?
At times, obedience is a struggle as our minds run all through the reasons that
God’s path is unreasonable or painful. Fear and disobedience can dominate us,
and our will battles to comply when everything inside of us is screaming to
turn and run the other way! God may let us go to a certain point before He
steps in, but believe me; He will
step in! As if we don’t already know, God relentlessly pursues us with His
grace and abounding love. He patiently waits and carves out our next step as we
trust and obey, and if He didn’t think we were ready, He wouldn’t have chosen
this path for us. God is calling us to step out in faith and trust Him; He is
asking us to believe that His power will equip us for what He is asking us to
do. All we need to do is…
~Trust and Obey!~
linking up this week with: