My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant..." Luke 1:46
Hello friend and welcome back. I apologize for the break, but happy to tell you that God has been doing some exciting stuff in my life. Over the break I've been working on areas of my life that needed growth. I hope and pray as time goes I'll share more about that. In the mean time, I have a post for this week titled 'Gratefully Trusting.'
To be real, the past few years have probably brought some of the hardest moments of our lives. Between loss and just experiencing some harsh realities, we're sometimes forced to slow down instead of pushing through.
One thing I'm learning and I hope you are too, is that all the difficult parts of our story are meant to be there. They are often the moments that make us stop and ponder; and then look up to Him. They're often the moments that draw us to our knees like nothing else.
Psalm 31:14 and the first part of 15 have come to summarize the past few months for me. The Psalmist wrote these simple but deep thoughts. "But I trust in you O Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand".
David was often in some difficult seasons in his life, but he managed to keep his trust in God.
I've discussed the word 'trust' on this blog many times, so its not new to any of you. However despite the familiarity of the word, it sometimes feel different trying to live it out in the middle of a storm.
But the truth is that every one of us use trust daily except when it comes to the difficult circumstances of our life. We trust the car or driver to get us from point A to B. We trust the plate to hold our food. We trust the chair to hold us while sitting... (I hope you see where I'm going).
But when difficult situations comes, we start to wonder if God truly understands our situation and then we allow doubt and our trust in Him starts to fade.
Let me encourage you with three things I've learned about Trust
1. Having a grateful mindset about who God is sets you up to trust Him even in difficult times.
I read somewhere recently that gratitude is one cure for depression. Well I believe that gratitude also allows us to trust God more. The more things I'm grateful for, the more I trust Him. With a spirit of gratitude, trusting God isn't difficult. After all, if I'm thankful for everything He is sending my way (the good and bad) which keeps my trust in Him. So if you want to trust God more, start thanking Him for everything including the difficulty He is allowing into your life.
2. Having open and frequent conversations with God builds trust.
The more you open up and talk with someone, the more you get to know them. Unfortunately culture today idolizes perfection including relationships. This has made it nearly impossible for us to show the 'less than ideal areas' of our lives for fear of judgement from others. Of course, I want to caution you from over sharing details of your life with people that may not have your best interest. However, if you have godly friends and people who are truly supportive and wants the best for you, then go ahead and share the real you. In fact, that is the only way you will build trust.
The same principle applies to our relationship with God. The more real we are with Him, the more real He is to us.
3. God always has a plan
Until you understand that every part of you story is as it should be because God has you in the palm of His hands and the devil can't touch you without His permission- it'll always be a struggle.
Over the last several months, my counsellor has reiterated the fact that God doesn't make mistakes; even though we might. He always has a plan. But the only way to see that plan come to pass is to trust in Him and in the mean time remain grateful.
Conclusion
Friend, my simple encouragement today is to seek God and ask Him to lead you to a deeper place of trust with Him. Start with gratitude. Thank God for the hardship because it has a purpose. Hopefully one to help you grow into a deeper walk with Him.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for seasons of life. Thank you for the lessons you have been teaching me. Please help me to have a grateful heart and mind so that I focus on the positive things you are doing. Lead me to a place of trust in you so that I can continue to grow in you. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Stay Blessed,
G
Image Credit: Wix
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