Do you trust that God can handle your goofs and messes?

Do you believe in a God that can handle anything?

Do you have faith that He will? . . . Why? . . . or why not?

Trust is believing someone is good, honest, safe, and reliable and will not harm you. When it comes to trusting God, that means accepting His reliability, His Word, His ability, and His strength. The Bible states that God cannot lie, that He always keeps His promises, will not harm you, and He loves you. Trusting in God means believing all that He says is true.

Faith in God, then is having that great trust and confidence in Him and what He says to be true.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” ~ Matthew 7:7

Helen Keller once wrote, “The most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

The same is true of trust and faith . . . it must be felt in the heart and soul. It is a choice to have trust and faith in God, even when your circumstances contradict what you hoped for. God knows, He is paying attention to you, and He cares about you. And though circumstances can change in the blink of an eye, God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and therefore is worthy of your trust.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”
~ Psalm 28:7

Talk with God . . .

PAUSE . . . think about your heart for a moment. Listen to it beat, feel the rhythm. Stretch your arms out and tilt your head back to help release the tension in your shoulders and back. You are alive and breathing, no matter how high or low your path takes you today.

Today’s step forward to a deeper peace is to “let go” of something . . . stop holding onto something, to stop thinking about, or being angry about the past or something that happened in the past . . . to take a single step forward, or away, in order to be able to reevaluate the moment, the day, your life.

Do you realize that one of the biggest distractions in life can be “yourself”? . . . that sometimes you need to get out of your own way?

Ask God where you might need to get out of your own way . . . He will let that realization jump out to you . . . have faith and trust Him.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” ~ Hebrews 11:1

Rethink & Consider . . .

Draw a picture of ocean waves. Are they large and ferocious or gentle and soothing? Now, picture those waves of life washing over you . . . some cleansing and refreshing, others dragging you deeper . . . and to keep your head above water, reach for the hand of Jesus.

Knowing He will be there to rescue you is faith and trust.

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7

Trusting God in the light is easy, but to trust Him in the dark, the unseen, that is faith.

Sometimes we don’t know or understand God’s plan, but faith is trusting He will take care of you, no matter the storms (a summer rain or a hurricane) or roar of the ocean waves.

Imagine . . .

Look at the picture of the train tracks heading into the fog. Imagine walking on those tracks, heading forward, around an uncertain bend. Will they be stable? What lays ahead? Is there a roaring train coming toward you? Is there a broken bridge to nowhere? Should you stop, or keep going?

What part of your life, or life in general, can you envision in these questions?

What emotions bubble up from the pictures your mind has drawn?

Now, try again . . . through the eyes of a child . . .  Revise your imagination and the pictures your mind has drawn. Imagine balancing on the rails, jumping between each wooden tie, looking up and wondering what wonderland or mountain is ahead to experience and explore . . . imagine the wonder, peace, and joy.

Eberhard Arnold (1883 – 1935), a German theologian and Christian writer, said, “Only those who look with the eyes of children can lose themselves in the object of their wonder.”

Be patient, have faith, trust God . . . and maybe even look at life through a child’s eyes occasionally.

Reflect & Pray . . .

Think about this . . . prayer helps you get outside the problem and see all the way around a situation. God will help open your eyes and help you see things through a different lens or from a different angle if you ask for help.

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” ~ Psalm 105:4

Prayerfully ask God to show you what you need to “let go” of so you can look at things in a fresh light.  Ask Him to help you let go. Don’t try to manipulate or force the outcome. Just trust God to close the right doors at the right time, and to open the right doors at the right time, and to open your eyes to new possibilities and solutions.

Look Ahead/In the Moment/Today/Tomorrow . . .

Thomas Merton wrote of trusting God, “I was not sure where I was going, and I could not see what I would do when I got [there]. But you saw further and clearer than I, and you opened the seas before my ship, whose track led me across the waters to a place I had never dreamed of, and which you were even then preparing to be my rescue and my shelter and my home.”

Hold onto this image . . .
As you move into the next moment, the next day, and beyond . . . think about a paper clip, with all its bends and turns. If this was the path you are walking in life without God, imagine straightening out that paper clip as you walk with God . . . the path isn’t perfectly straight, but it is a whole lot easier to follow.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

We want to say to God, “Show me and I will trust You,” but God is telling us. “Trust Me and I will show you.” Trust Him.

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 A Focus for Walking the Labyrinth . . .

As you “travel” the labyrinth in prayer, remember . . . You are on holy ground . . . Simply let God know that you would like to be closer to Him, then “walk” and listen . . . and give to God all you need to let go.

It is important to your inner soul that you learn to stop and rest . . . take this time to rest in God’s loving embrace.

BELIEVE IN GOD ~ FOLLOW CHRIST ~ LISTEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT