Everyday Step with Jesus

When chaos is surrounding us, it is easy to take our eyes off the Lord and trust in our own abilities to make the situation better. However, this leads to more frustration, fear, or worry and leaves us restless. These past two weeks have been filled with situations that have been difficult, but the Lord kept reminding me to keep trusting in Him despite what I see. Sometimes this can be easier said than done, but when we get into His word and His presence, His Holy Spirit teaches us and shows us to put our confidence in Him…that is what trust is all about, being confident in who He is, but How can we trust in the Lord in the difficult times? Keep on reading…

RECOGNIZE THAT HE IS YOUR GOD

We need to recognize that God has been our God since we were in our mother’s womb. He is the only One who has sustained us and is the only One who will continue to sustain us. David recognized this and said:

‘For You are my hope, O Lord God ; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You.’ Psalms 71:5-6 NKJV

David remembers and recognizes that since his youth, he has trusted in the Lord. We also need to remember what the Lord has done for us in the past, where He took us out from and the many times He has upheld us. Even if in the moment it seems dark, remember who your God is. In a previous chapter, David was being mocked and laughed at because He was in moments of trouble and his help had not come yet, but even in those moments he recognized that God had been with Him since he was in his mother’s womb. 

‘All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the Lord , let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.’ Psalms 22:7-10 NKJV

Even though the people were laughing at David, David recognized that God is the one that took him out of his mother’s womb and that God had been with him since he was in His mother’s womb, He has always been his God. In our moments of trouble there may be people around you that make similar comments, saying “Where is your God?, If God is so powerful why can’t he help you?”. Sometimes you might even be the one asking yourself these questions or think like David and think that God has forsaken you (Psalm 22:1-2 NKJV), but it is in these moments that we need to recognize that since our mother’s womb He has been our God, that He is faithful despite what we currently see. David was still in trouble, and is why the people were laughing at him, but he chose to recognize that the Lord had been his God since the beginning. He first expressed how he felt by asking the Lord, why have you forsaken me. But then David recognized who his God was and he realized that God was with him and would always be with him (Psalms 48:14 NKJV). 

FEED ON HIS FAITHFULNESS

Our God is so faithful and He is a God that doesn’t go back on His word. 

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19 NKJV

When we put our trust in God, we are putting our trust in the One that doesn’t lie and doesn’t go back on His word. Because of who He is, we can be confident that we are putting our trust in a faithful God. I think that a lot of times we measure God’s faithfulness based on his response to our prayers or getting what we want. But that is not what God’s faithfulness is. God’s faithfulness is that He remains the same. Even if we don’t get the response that we want, even if we don’t see that miracle come to pass…He is still a God of miracles, He is still an all powerful God that does listen to our prayers. We may not understand the outcome of a situation, but His faithfulness does not depend on our outcome. He is our God and we are to serve Him, not the other way around. He is a faithful God ALWAYS, not just in the moments when we get the outcome that we were hoping for. Circumstances and situations around us may change, but one thing is for sure… our God and His word, that stands forever (Isaiah 40:8 NKJV).

‘Trust in the Lord , and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.’ Psalms 37:3

David is really such a great example of someone that praises God despite their circumstance. He went through dark moments, he expressed how he felt to the Lord and despite how he felt, he chose to praise the Lord and recognize His faithfulness. When we recognize that we have a faithful God, we are able to trust in Him. Our trust shifts from the outcome of a situation, to who our God is… a good good Father that remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

REMEMBER HIS GOODNESS

There are so many truths in His word that not only tell us about God’s goodness but also stories that show us how good our God is. In the moments of trouble, go to His word and find out for yourself all of the great things God has done for His people and the many promises that still remain for His people. 

– He led his people out of Egypt (Deut. 4:20)

– He parted the Red Sea so they could pass on dry land (Exodus 14)

– He made the bitter water sweet for His people(Exodus 15:22-27)

– He sent them bread from heaven( Exodus 16)

– He provided water for them…and not just any water, but water from the Rock which is Jesus (Exodus 17:5-6 , 1 Cor. 10:4)

– He gave them victory over their enemies (Exodus 17:8-16)

– Sent an Angel to keep Israel on the right path (Exodus 23:20-23)

These are only a few of the things that the Lord did for His people… it is important to remember that these are the same people that complained and disobeyed God more than once…and yet God still showed them His glory and goodness. Of course His ultimate demonstration of His goodness and love is that He gave His one and only Son (John 3:16). So when you are having trouble trusting, go back to His word and remember how good God is, remember that He sent His son for you. God is not only good when things go right for us…but all the time God is good.

CHECK YOUR HEART

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.’ Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

We must trust the Lord with all of our heart, but our heart can be deceiving (Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV). This is why we must guard our hearts, so that our hearts can remain pure and we can truly trust in the Lord. 

‘Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.’ Proverbs 4:23 NKJV

When we don’t guard our hearts, we allow things to enter that don’t belong and we begin to lean on our own understanding. If we are having a hard time trusting the Lord,  we should stop and analyze what is in our hearts. Do we have roots of doubt or fear that are not allowing us to trust in the Lord with all of our heart? 

Leaning on our own understanding makes it easier to get caught up in our emotions and thoughts when we go through a difficult time. Our understanding in the moments of trouble are often worry, doubt, fear and many other things that lead us to negativity and wrong thinking. When we lean on our own understanding, we try to figure out ways to make the situation better on our own strength, and this just simply doesn’t work. There are moments where we are to take action, but we must be led by Him…and there are also moments when we must be still. We will only know which we need to do when we communicate with our Father and trust in Him. We must recognize that there are situations that are out of our hands, which we have no control over. In these moments, we feel vulnerable and the fear, worry, or doubt start to creep in. In these moments it is hard to trust…but we must choose to recognize who our God is. Even if we don’t see what we want to see, we must believe and trust that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 NKJV). Again, this doesn’t mean that things will be good all the time or go our way, but rather that even if the outcome is not what we wanted…in the end, it all works together for good, for His glory. Jesus tells us:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NKJV

When we trust in Him, we are trusting and putting our confidence in the One that overcame this world. Yes, we will go through tribulations, but He has overcome! I pray that you may find comfort in trusting in Him…remember that it is a choice we must make every day.