03/29/2022
In whom do we trust our lives? We like to say that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, that we listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and have placed our trust in God, but then we retreat to our prayer closets and try to dictate the path our life will take. Before we say that this doesn’t describe us I ask that we each do some soul searching. Let’s ask ourselves how often we pray for what we want to happen, and compare the frequency of those prayers with how often we pray “Father, your will, not mine, be done!” We all have things we want to have happen in our lives; new jobs, healing, provision, and every order of blessing, but do we trust in God to give us these things in the best possible way, or do we want Him to do exactly what we want, and to do these things precisely as we have envisioned that they should occur? Who are we really entrusting our lives to?
“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Matthew 6:28-29 ESV
To those who are absorbed in their own wants, and lives, this passage of scripture might appear to be speaking about how God will dress them in fine clothes, and give them what they want. To others this might justify a life of leisure or laziness, but what it really speaks to is the worry we feel when we attempt to take our lives into our own hands; it speaks to the anxiousness we feel when we don’t trust God as we should with our lives.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 ESV
On multiple occasions I have found myself in situations where someone has come to me for help or advice, and after listening to their problem I have offered them a good solution, or a certain way out of trouble. They were in dire need of help, yet in the end were reluctant to accept it. More times than I would care to admit, they would say thank you and then return to doing what had been failing for them all along. All too often it is the same in our faith… we ask the Lord for help, and then ignore Him when His Will turns out to be different from ours.
“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”
Proverbs 3:6-7 ESV
Think back on some instances in your life when you were at a loss, or really wanted something and didn’t know how to get it, or make it happen. Did it drive you into your prayer closet, or make you fall back into your prayer chair in desperation? What happened next? Did you ask God for help? Something tells me you did… and when He told you what to do… did you listen? Did a solution appear as you waited on Him, but you turned away from it? Well what prevented you from accepting God’s help? Maybe you even thanked Him, and then walked away to continue doing exactly what you were doing before you prayed! What gets in our way in such situations is the desire to be in control, and the fact that we just won’t trust others with our life decisions… not even God. Oh, we’ll take what He gives us, so long as it isn’t instruction. Many of us simply have a real problem with giving up control, or trusting, but God is always deserving of our trust.
“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalm 9:9-10 ESV
The Lord asked us to put him to the test regarding our tithing, and promised us a blessing that would remove all our needs. Listen to what He said…
“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
Malachi 3:10 ESV
So if this happens when we trust Him with our tithes, then what do we think will happen when we trust Him with our prayers, and we seek the other things in our life by trusting in Him? If we pray and ask that His will be done, and not ours, what do we think the result will be?
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!”
Psalm 34:8-9 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and the lessons He taught us in loving, trusting, and obeying you. Thank you for His prayers, and for teaching us how to pray that your will be done, not His, or ours. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who makes our paths good, and straight. Praised be your name for rewarding our trust in you by clothing us like the flowers in the field, and increasing our gifts so that we will lack for nothing. Merciful are you Father, and perfect is your provision, love, and grace. Wash away our sins with the blood of your Son Jesus, and transform us into new creatures; made perfect in His image. We trust you in Christ, we trust you in our resurrection, and we trust you in life everlasting… help us now to trust you in all things, and every prayer we pray in try he name of Jesus, and your will.
“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”
Psalm 33:20-22 ESV
Rich Forbes