Are You Willing to Trust God?

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Trust is hard.  It requires us to step out of our comfort zones, to relinquish control, to place our confidence in something or Someone other than us. 

Remember when our kids were little, and they were determined to do something themselves?  They were convinced they knew how, that they were strong enough, that they didn’t need help.  But the result was a big mess and frustration and tears because nothing turned out the way they expected or wanted.  They didn’t have the foresight, the strength, or the experience to really handle the task.

When it comes to our sons and daughters, we want to know they’re okay.  We want to be able to rest, with full assurance that they are making the right choices, befriending the right people, and living in a way that pleases the Lord.   Yet they’re out of our homes (most of them, anyway), living on their own and conducting their own affairs with (likely) little thought for us.  As a parent, that’s a hard change.  We invested so much into them, it’s difficult to let go and not be involved.  Oh, we talk, we visit, but we don’t do daily life with them anymore.  We’re not sitting down to dinner asking, “How was school today?”.  Life with adult children is different.  And for parents, it pulls us (sometimes kicking and screaming) into a whole new level of trusting God for their care and protection.

When they were little, we had a false sense of control over their well-being.  I think that is God’s grace to young parents.  But as our sons and daughters grow and become more independent and begin spending more and more time apart from us, our parental ability to have a hand on everything diminishes…and almost disappears.  If we’re honest, we like to be in control, and it is hard to relinquish that role.  We like having things go the way we planned or the way we imagine it will work out.  But then we get disappointed or upset, annoyed, or pouty when it does not.  (our children get it honestly, no?) Sometimes we even push back to others around us… perhaps even to our now adult children, trying to align everything with our ways and wishes once again.

It is then we realize our role as parents is changing, whether we like it or not.  If we try to maintain the status quo of their toddler or primary years, we upset the equilibrium of relationships and communication.  We can’t keep them little, and we can’t control their choices.  We have to let go and trust God.

It's time we ask ourselves some important questions:

• Do I love God more than I love (name of son or daughter)

• Am I willing to release my grip on (name) in order to allow God to work in their life?

• What if God takes (name) to the other side of the world?  Will I support and pray for them or will I resist God’s plan and fight for my own will?

• What if they experience grief or hardship- will I consume my thoughts with ‘me’ - what could I have done differently to prevent this? Or will I point them to Christ and encourage their faith and trust in His sovereignty?

• Am I living out an example of trusting God to my sons and daughters?

It’s tempting to be God’s GPS, telling Him where He’s going and guiding His turns for our lives.  We’re quick to yell out “Wrong Turn!” and tell God that’s not where He wants to take us.  But what if it is?  What if God asks you to give up something you love dearly (a job, a home, a ministry, a relationship) because He is leading you (or your son or daughter) to something else?

Our lives would be fairly dismal if we were left to design our own future because, we can all admit, we are so limited in our humanness.  We don’t have the power, the creativity, the sovereignty to design our own destiny, nor to protect and administrate our daily lives.  We are fallen, needy children.  Yet God loves us so very much He’s planned our life, long before we were ever born.  He’s orchestrated all of the locations, experiences, people, and lessons to align with His perfect will.  We all could share story after story of things that we would not have chosen for ourselves or our family but that God used to bring growth, blessing, and joy. He is a good Father and He cares for His children.

God asks us to trust Him.  That word, trust, is the same as the word believe, ‘pisteuo’ in Greek.  It means, “to have faith, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ): believe, commit.”  It goes further to mean, “to think to be true; to be persuaded of; to place confidence in.” (1)

So there is one more question that begs to be asked:

• Who are you trusting?

Are you trusting in yourself and your ability to orchestrate things?  Are you trusting in the strength of your family to ensure your sons and daughters will do what is right?  If you are, friend, you are on your way to a difficult and painful awakening.  “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”  2 John 1:9  Are you living like you’re abiding or like you don’t have God at all?

God asks us to trust Him because He knows what is best.  He knows the beginning from the end and with that in mind, He orchestrates our life with all of its twists and turns, gains and losses, and joys and hardships.  He has the end in mind- whereas we only see today.

And if we trust Him, He promises hope, joy and peace.  Hope overflowing by the power of the Holy Spirit will only be enjoyed when we abide in Christ.  So let’s give up our aspirations of being God’s gps.  Let’s let Him be in the driver’s seat while we sit back and trust that He’s more than capable of managing our life and that of our sons and daughters.  Trust.  It is what God asks us to do daily.  Will you trust Him today?

“Father, I confess I struggle with wanting to control things.  I let fear and anxiety take over and in my effort to control them, I try and control others.  Forgive me, Lord.  Speak to my heart tonight.   Help me to abide in You.  I pray that You would give me a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit so that my thoughts, desires, actions and word reflect Jesus and not my sinful, fallen nature.  Lord, I pray that my sons and daughters would see me trusting You so that my life would be an example of peace, joy, and overflowing hope that can only come from You.  Lord, work in (name)’s heart and life.  Help them to trust You, too.  Remind them that You are their good Father and You desire to prosper them, not harm them.  Give them strength to trust even when it doesn’t make sense to our limited human understanding.  I pray that You would be glorified and Christ be praised, in Jesus’ name, amen.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey (2)

Pray without ceasing.

1.      G4100 - pisteuō - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4100/niv/mgnt/0-1/

2.     Sammis, J. H. (n.d.). Hymn: Trust and obey. =. https://hymnary.org/text/when_we_walk_with_the_lord