Wednesday 15 June 2011

I will trust in You



At one time, trust came so easily. Trusting in God was just a natural heart-response to who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised He will do in the future. I didn’t even have to think about it – I simply trusted Him.

Today….well, as one who believes that we should be honest with ourselves, with God and with others…it is something I am having to choose to do. Not because I doubt God and His character - but because I am allowing myself to become too distracted by circumstances. The account of Peter’s response to Jesus walking on water springs to mind.

“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost', they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid'. 'Lord, if it's you', Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water'. 'Come', he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith', he said, 'why did you doubt?' And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God'.” (Mt 14:25-33)

Like Peter, my eyes have dwelt too long on the wind. I look at the wind blowing in my personal circumstances and I become afraid; I look at the wind blowing in worldwide situations and I become afraid. I need to fill my vision up with Christ, the One who has the power to cause the wind to die down, and Who triumphs over all.

I’m currently reading The Attributes of God by Arthur W. Pink - thanks to Diane Bucknell and her recent book giveaway :) Today I read this passage on the faithfulness of God, which really encouraged me, especially as it contains a verse which a dear friend recently shared with me.

“There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy, no not even for Christians, to believe that God is faithful. Our faith is sorely tried, our eyes bedimmed with tears, and we can no longer trace the outworkings of His love. Our ears are distracted with the noises of the world, harassed by the atheistic whisperings of Satan, and we can no longer hear the sweet accents of His still small voice. Cherished plans have been thwarted, friends on whom we relied have failed us, a professed brother or sister in Christ has betrayed us. We are staggered. We sought to be faithful to God, and now a dark cloud hides Him from us. We find it difficult, yes, impossible, for carnal reason to harmonize His frowning providence with His gracious promises. Ah, faltering soul, severely tried fellow pilgrim, seek grace to heed Isaiah 50:10, "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God."

Christine Pack shared this quote today on Facebook: ‎"In short, God in his mercy to you, will put you in a place where you cannot control the circumstances and you have no choice but to cry out to him for help...The next time you are in what appears to be an impossible situation, think less about yourself and what you are losing and more about God and what you gain by trusting and resting in him." - The Counseling Solutions Group.

So as I shift my focus from my circumstances and instead contemplate God and who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised to do, my heart can only cry out in response to His asking me “Do you trust Me?” with the words of the psalmist:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
Psalm 73:25-26

13 comments:

  1. Dear Diana, as I read this, I am thinking on all the changes that will hit us soon, when our eldest son leaves for college in August. I have so many things going on in my mind, so many and different emotions in my heart, but at the bottom of all these, I always find myself asking this question "Do I trust God with my son's life?"

    Thanks for this post.

    Love you dearly, sister.

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  2. Wonderful post, Diana.

    I'm finding myself of late needing to step back, go for long walks, and take the time to remember Him, His faithfulness, and rest in the I Am.

    There are times this world is too much for me, and at the same time, not enough. That's when I want to do as Jesus did, and slip away from the crowd, and pray to my Father.

    I so appreciate how you share yourself in your posts and point to Him.
    Love xoxo,
    -E

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  3. This is beautiful! And when we trust Him with the unknown, He proves His goodness to us in ways we can never anticipate. Thanks for encouraging us to keep our focus on Him, and not on us. Blessings!

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  4. Becky - I appreciate you sharing your heart. I can't really begin to imagine how it must feel to be sending Santiago off to college, but I can relate to the need to place family members into the trust of our loving, faithful God. You, Santiago and all your beautiful family are in my prayers. May God bless you!

    E - I pray you find your rest in the I Am. There is no other source of comfort. You speak of the need to slip away from the crowd and pray to your Father - I have to resist the temptation to look for comfort in His people rather than in His arms alone. He is All.

    Sandy - thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such an encouraging word! I am so glad this encouraged you, may God bless you.

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  5. Diana,
    Oh my. This is what I needed to hear. I am feeling fearful of my upcoming trip to El Salvador, of all the things that could go wrong. But who am I going with? God! He will be with me there just as he will be with me here. I want to trust him more.

    I read The Attributes of God a few years ago and it really made an impact on me. I think I should pull it back out again, thanks to your post.

    Thank you for sharing!

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  6. I think I need to read The Attributes of God. And I really, really love the quote that you shared from Christine.

    There are days when trusting God just comes so naturally, like breathing. I find that in most "big" circumstances, I can do that. It's in the little, seemingly insignificant, daily struggles that I find it so hard to trust that He's going to work it all out.

    Thanks your for your transparency - you are spurring your readers on to love Him more.

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  7. Lisa - wow, a trip to El Salvador! I pray God blesses your time there. Have you blogged about this trip? Oh yes, the omnipresence of God!!! Not actually covered in Pink's The Attributes of God - but it is in Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy, which I also highly recommend if you haven't read it :)

    Melissa - so appreciate your comment. Thanks for your encouragement. You are also making me think about whether I trust God with the "seemingly insignificant" or whether I tackle those in my own strength....a thought to ponder....Bless you!

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  8. I just can't help humming/singing this hymn to what you've written. Blessings!

    Simply trusting every day,
    Trusting through a stormy way;
    Even when my faith is small,
    Trusting Jesus, that is all.

    Refrain:
    Trusting as the moments fly,
    Trusting as the days go by;
    Trusting Him whate’er befall,
    Trusting Jesus, that is all.

    Brightly doth His Spirit shine
    Into this poor heart of mine;
    While He leads I cannot fall;
    Trusting Jesus, that is all.

    Singing if my way is clear,
    Praying if the path be drear;
    If in danger for Him call;
    Trusting Jesus, that is all.

    Trusting Him while life shall last,
    Trusting Him till earth be past;
    Till within the jasper wall,
    Trusting Jesus, that is all.

    Ira D. Sankey, 1876

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  9. Beautiful Petra, thanks for sharing! Just been listening to it on YouTube. Amen!

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  10. Diana,

    This is a beautiful post. I so love the verses in Psalm 73. Trials, afflictions, losses, disappointments, discouragement. Yes, these all come to every human being on the planet. But for those whose Father is the Lord of the universe, these trials come our way as a gift from God, (though it sure doesn't seem like it at the moment!) with the express purpose spoken of in James 1:2-3

    "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness"

    Nothing can harm us. We are safe in the arms of Christ and no one, including ourselves can pluck us out of His hand. What is the worst that can possibly happen to us? Die? That will happen and then we will be completely free!!

    May He wrap His loving arms around you today sweet sister.

    With love,
    diane

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  11. Dearest Diane, thank you for your lovely words!

    I've been thinking on 1 Peter 1 this week and the verse you quoted from James reminds me of this one where Peter speaks of the trials the believers are suffering:

    "These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:7).

    So it is for His praise, His glory, His honour that He sends this gift. What a God we serve!

    Continuing to pray for you, Diane. Much love.

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  12. Dear Diana,

    I understand what you're sharing here and thank you for your honesty. There is much that resonates with me and I, too, benefit from the comments of your friends.

    The Attributes of God is on my list of books to read so I'm glad that you shared a bit with me. I look forward to reading it but not until I know the Bible as well as I should. I'm not there yet. Thank you also for Psalm 73:25-26.

    It's when my family and I were in the midst of the biggest storm we'd ever faced, that I slowly came to understand that things were never out of control and I don't regret the lesson. Even in the times of greatest upheaval, God,in His sovereignty, is still on His throne, working out His good and perfect plan.

    Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    And He brought them out of their distresses.
    He caused the storm to be still,
    So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
    Then they were glad because they were quiet,
    So He guided them to their desired haven.
    Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving kindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! ~ Psalm 107:28-31

    Praying for you dear sister, and so thankful for your friendship.

    Love,
    Ruthie

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  13. Sweet Ruthie, thank you so much for sharing this. Praise God that He has revealed His sovereignty to you, and that in this glorious doctrine you and I and all our friends can find such comfort!

    I love those verses from Psalm 107. That psalm really does show how, because of His lovingkindness, God brings about situations in our lives where we have no option but to cry out to, and lean on, Him alone. And the wonderful thing is, each and every time we do this, He saves us out of our trouble. May we never lose sight of this, in the midst of whatever storms we face!

    God bless you, Ruthie, thank you for your encouragement and your friendship xxx

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