Are You Having a Hard Time Trusting the Lord?
Photo by Charly Pn
Do you look at your life and wonder where your joy went?
Do you feel like having true peace in your heart right now just isn’t possible?
In times like these, it’s important to remember a few important things about yourself and about God.
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:13 NLT)
Romans 15:13 is true even in dark times when it feels like the enemy is winning. Even then, you can choose to focus on God, trust Him, and—consequently—walk in His peace, His laughter-filled joy, and His confident hope that sees the fulfillment of promises.
Here are a few thoughts about God and trust.
When You Trust the Lord in Times of Attack…
You don’t have to be afraid when powerful forces come against you, your family, your workplace, or your nation.
No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. (Deut. 7:21 TLB)
As you trust Him and follow His will, God is awesome on your behalf. You may not be able to predict exactly what will happen, but you can know with all your heart that He has a plan and it is for your prosperity, not harm.
When You Trust the Lord in Times of Loss…
You give other people and nations a picture of who He is. Not a human view of Him—but His actual, tangible, life-altering splendor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. (Isa. 61:1–3 NIV)
The result of trusting God in times of grief is joy, hope, and beauty that other people can see as well.
Some of you may believe that times of loss produce only heartache and despair, but Isaiah 61 suggests that isn’t true. When you trust the Lord in those times, you encounter His splendor that takes away the ashes and restores your heart.
What If You Feel Like You Can’t Trust the Lord?
Are you going through a season when it feels like you can’t or shouldn’t trust the Lord?
Some of us have trouble seeing His goodness in our lives because we believe He WON’T be good to us. Or we believe something is just about to go wrong, so we feel like we can’t trust Him and rest in the peace of who He is.
If that’s you, you need to renew your mind and train yourself to think according to what the Bible says. The truth is, He IS good and you CAN trust Him.
Don’t approach renewing your mind like an adult who has everything together. Approach it like a child, who understands only simple things. Children tend to be better at trusting than adults are.
What If You Feel Cut Off from God?
There will be days when you feel like you can’t connect with God or maybe like something is about to go wrong. Fear pushes in on your heart, and it’s like you can’t “find” God.
Those days happen sometimes. The important thing to realize is that nothing has changed. You may not be able to “feel” Him, but it’s probably because of stress or some other factor.
On those days, you can know He’s good even if you can’t feel the comfort of His presence. He is STILL taking care of you and leading you, and He WILL take care of you and lead you.
Your trust in the Lord produces beautiful music that honors Him and shows other people who He is.
Does your heart need to remember who God is? Check out these other devotions:
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