Releasing insecurity
New confidence formed.
Resting in grace
Standing on promises.
Pressing onward.
Growing deeper.
Becoming rooted.
Trust.
All of things are necessary to move forward in times of pleasant plateaus and dimly lit valleys. All actions. The last the substance of all of them. Trust. According to Dictionary.com, trust is:
(1) reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence
(2) confident expectation of something; hope.
(3) a person on whom or thing on which one relies: God is my trust.
These are but three definitions of trust. When I read them, I am challenged. Do I rely on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc. of God? Do I have confidence in my Father? My Creator? I am uncertain I do at times. There are moments, days, and circumstances that cloud my "confident expectation of something."
But as the Scripture says so clearly, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight our paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." (Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV)
Over the years I have been overcome by the need to control things, situations, people all to my own demise. I must let you know now this is what causes the most uncertainty. By relinquishing control, "going with the flow" as I like to say, one begins to trust. What an assurance, what a promise one has when he/she trusts the Lord. It says in this Scripture that, " He will make straight our paths...It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." I have never before seen these and realized they are promises from the Lord. When He says He will, He will. We must have hope. We must trust.
Right now I am uncertain of the path He is taking me for I have only seen glimpses of His glory. This simple statement makes me glow with joy for I am expectant of the good which He has for me. In order for me to see these things, I must do the this thing called trust. It is not a suggestion in my eyes, but something of necessity.
How much do you trust in the Lord? Or do you constantly try and trust yourself, your human nature and your mind, which will daily fail you? I cannot say with full confidence that I understand and fully comprehend what trust is, but I am realizing its necessity. Without trust, I do not fully understand hope because in order to hope I must trust. Interesting how that works. They are made from the very same cloth you see. They are pieces of the foundation of our relationship with the Lord. Without them, we have nothing to stand on; it will crumble beneath us.
Psalm 146
"Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!"
Let hope and trust be what you walk with daily. Hope has been described to me as the "joyful expectation of good." I find that fitting. As you hope and trust in the Lord, you shall find JOY and experience the goodness of the Father!
