A friend and I were talking last year about faith, and trusting God, especially when He was being silent.
I told her that for me, sometimes it came down to sheer stubborn-ness. But that didn’t sound very spiritual, so I’m trying again.
Trust is a choice. My buddy Habakkuk demonstrates that in my favorite verses from the Bible book with his name:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Hab 3:17-18, NIV)
He’s not saying he’ll rejoice because of all that stuff - he’s saying that in spite of it, he will choose to be joyful in the God who saves him.
Trust is the same way, I think. I don’t always know what God is doing in the world, in my life, or even in this particular moment. But I can look back at my history with God, and remember the times He has acted on my behalf, the many times He carried me through a trial, or even the times that what looked like a disappointment turned out to be the preparation for something better. And because of that history, I continue to choose to trust God, even when He doesn’t give me what I think I want. Or when He takes longer than I think He should.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy. It can be very challenging (and is, right now). I’m not some super-Christian, endowed with supernatural powers to trust God no matter what. I’m an ordinary human being, who has a large helping of stubborn-ness in her makeup. That stubborn-ness helps me continue to choose to trust God, even when I’m not sure what He’s doing, or when things are challenging.
And sometimes I just have to stop and look at a declaration I printed out and hung on my wall in 2022, as a reminder and a prayer.
One of the hardest things I learned was No is a complete sentence. I can look back at a few of those moments and appreciate the no's that I didn't know I needed. I'm retired this past month from a job I had for 30 yrs. There are MANY times I'm glad God was watching out for me.
Thanks Mary. Your message is timely.