Trust
What a word! So few letters, yet so much work. I am in a season that screams this word. What are we to trust? I mean, I know that I need to trust God, but what is He asking me to trust Him with? The answer is deafening...everything!
If you are like me, then this word makes you cringe. The only things that I've put my trust in have been my determination and my disappointment. These are two things that haven't let me down because I've come to expect them. Does that mean that I am dissapointed in God? As a dear friend told me "Be real with Him Connie, He can handle it". So, real I am, and Sovereign is He. You see, sometimes our plans for our lives don't shape up the way we hope they will. Don't get me wrong, God answers prayer, just not usually in the way we picture it.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 God is saying, I God, know the plans that I, God, have for you. He did not say, I know the plans we have for your life. He did not say, I know the plans you have for your life. His plans, His will.
If you read the chapter this passage comes from, you will find that God is speaking, through the prophet Jeremiah, to the people of Israel after they were taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar, who took them to Babylon. God is telling these people, you are held captive, and it's all good, I allowed it to go this way. Get married, have babies, live life. Most importantly, pray for this city and wait for me to set you free after many years. I am guessing, that was not the answer to prayer that they wanted to hear.
I don't know where you are. I don't know what you are facing. I don't know how anything will turn out for either one of us, but I do know that God loves us. I know that the storms that continually hit are not a reflection of His love. He loves us no matter what, even if the storms are brought on by our own circumstanses. All over the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, it tells us how God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to free us of unrighteousness. It tells us that God is righteous and holy and He cannot come near sin. We are sin, it's what we were born with. There is nothing we can do to remove it, except to trust. To trust that Jesus suffered and died on the cross to take the place of that sin. That He is the catylist that connects us to the Father, only when we have eyes to see it and hearts to believe it. So what do we do with that love that has been extended to us. How do we respond? Personally, I will choose to ask God to show me how to trust Him.
Let's pray: "Lord, there are a whole lot of people hurting right now. Many have no answers to prayer, including myself. God these are tough times for so many people. BUT, God You are bigger than it all. Your word tells us that You win! That all we struggle with will be worth it if we believe. God Your word tells us that You love us no matter what. Help us Lord, to be a people who believe it, who live it. God help us to learn to trust You with the plans You have for our lives. We thank You for Jesus, who taught us to trust. Amen"
If you are like me, then this word makes you cringe. The only things that I've put my trust in have been my determination and my disappointment. These are two things that haven't let me down because I've come to expect them. Does that mean that I am dissapointed in God? As a dear friend told me "Be real with Him Connie, He can handle it". So, real I am, and Sovereign is He. You see, sometimes our plans for our lives don't shape up the way we hope they will. Don't get me wrong, God answers prayer, just not usually in the way we picture it.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 God is saying, I God, know the plans that I, God, have for you. He did not say, I know the plans we have for your life. He did not say, I know the plans you have for your life. His plans, His will.
If you read the chapter this passage comes from, you will find that God is speaking, through the prophet Jeremiah, to the people of Israel after they were taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar, who took them to Babylon. God is telling these people, you are held captive, and it's all good, I allowed it to go this way. Get married, have babies, live life. Most importantly, pray for this city and wait for me to set you free after many years. I am guessing, that was not the answer to prayer that they wanted to hear.
I don't know where you are. I don't know what you are facing. I don't know how anything will turn out for either one of us, but I do know that God loves us. I know that the storms that continually hit are not a reflection of His love. He loves us no matter what, even if the storms are brought on by our own circumstanses. All over the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, it tells us how God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to free us of unrighteousness. It tells us that God is righteous and holy and He cannot come near sin. We are sin, it's what we were born with. There is nothing we can do to remove it, except to trust. To trust that Jesus suffered and died on the cross to take the place of that sin. That He is the catylist that connects us to the Father, only when we have eyes to see it and hearts to believe it. So what do we do with that love that has been extended to us. How do we respond? Personally, I will choose to ask God to show me how to trust Him.
Let's pray: "Lord, there are a whole lot of people hurting right now. Many have no answers to prayer, including myself. God these are tough times for so many people. BUT, God You are bigger than it all. Your word tells us that You win! That all we struggle with will be worth it if we believe. God Your word tells us that You love us no matter what. Help us Lord, to be a people who believe it, who live it. God help us to learn to trust You with the plans You have for our lives. We thank You for Jesus, who taught us to trust. Amen"
