A friend of mine contacted me some time ago and told me, “And just as we talked yesterday about faith…seems like each time I get closer to what God’s calling for me, Something knocks me on my butt. Fighting battles in so many arenas right now. Must be doing something right if Satan keeps attacking right?”
Often I find that these “trials” or “test” draw me closer to God and help me to TRUST and rely on Him and His wisdom in my life and less on me and the worlds wisdom. I just need to “BE Still” and know that God is God. That is in many ways essentially what TRUST is all about!
It all starts with prayer. MC Hammer says, “Just got to pray..pray…just to make it through the day”.
Psalms 46:1-3 (TNIV)
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
Isn’t this how life feels often, things around us are giving way, junk just falls in our laps, chaos seems to churn and it’s just plain tough.
I find the whole of Psalms 46 to be a great help to calm my heart, to TRUST, and to help me put my priorities in place.
The next verses in this Psalm explain what happens when we TRUST in God and look to Him for refuge and strength (verses 4-5) “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”
And then further, in verse 10 we are reminded by God where to put our TRUST: “Be still, and know that I am God”.
Additionally, James, the half brother of Jesus and leader in the early church tells us (James 1:2-4), “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
I believe that we cannot trust both the wisdom of God and the seeming, “wisdom of the world”, at the same time. As I have looked at my life, when I have trusted God’s wisdom, though it may seem the hard road to take at times, I have found peace, that “eirene” [i-rah-nay] I touched on the other day.
As I have trusted the world’s wisdom, I have often stood scratching my head asking why things went wrong in my life. God’s wisdom can be found in the Scriptures– in the Words of Jesus. The key to trusting in the wisdom of the world is to always filter it through God’s wisdom. If it’s doesn’t filter through well, it’s not good wisdom. I believe that all truth comes from God.
Let me share with you the results of trusting in God’s wisdom: service of others, satisfaction, humility, certainty and contentment
Let me also share with you the results of trusting in the world’s wisdom: anxiety, self-centeredness, dissatisfaction, arrogance, uncertainty and greed
Psalms 118:8 (TNIV)
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in human beings.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (TNIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.[or, “He will direct your paths]
TRUST: Be still and know that God is God, let God be your refuge in times of trouble and testing– Call on God for strength amidst the chaos that we sometimes find in our lives.
