What does it mean to truly trust God?

This question has been rolling around in my mind lately and I decided to put some thoughts on paper. I should warn you that this blog is going to be a little deeper than my usual babbling, but mind you I by no means am saying that I have the answer. In fact, I will tell you right up front, I don’t have the answer.

Plain and simple, life is tough. As most of you know, our 3 year old nephew, Daniel, died tragically 2 years ago. His picture is to the left. We all miss him greatly. I have a friend who is going through her second round of cancer. It is tough. These people love Jesus and trusted Him to protect them and their family. Does that mean God let them down? No, I don’t believe it does, but I do believe it feels that way. This is one area of grieving that I wasn't aware of before, finding it hard to wholy trust God again. But it totally makes sense.

So this brought me to the question, “What does it mean to truly trust God?” Probably the better question is, “What am I trusting Him for?” Am I trusting Him to keep me, my family and my loved ones safe and immune from all sickness and harm? Consciously, no, but I think if we were all honest deep down, that is our expectation. Did God promise us that? I don’t think so, but He did promise us that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Deut 31:6) God can see the whole picture.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Does knowing these things make it easy to go through losing a child or fighting cancer? An emphatic “NO”! We are human with human emotions and it hurts like crazy and we feel betrayed and let down. God knows that and He can handle it. And He is not going anywhere. He is still there to hold us, love us, and help us through.

So the question I am asking myself now is, “Will I trust God even when bad things happen?” With all my being I want to say yes, but I know that it isn’t that easy. But praise the Lord He loves us unconditionally and takes us just as we are.

Lord, My prayer for my friends and family who are grieving right now is that you will rebuild their trust in You and their peace. You enable us to trust You to start with, it isn’t from ourselves. So I ask you to enable them once again to trust in you. Heal their broken hearts and comfort them in the way only You can. Give them a peace that passes all understanding. Thank you Jesus. In Your name we pray, Amen

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

This is a song, with the words following, that has ministered to my sister-in-law through the trial of losing her son. She says it makes sense, and I agree.

Blessings By Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
As long as we have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise