Seven Things to Develop our Willingness to Trust God

Seven Things to Develop our Willingness to Trust God

Good Morning Friends,

Maybe I am getting better at trusting God but the unmistakable reality is that a lot of the trusting thing has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done. Really trusting God requires a persistent presence of intention that prefers God. A moment away and one has to start over. We are after all unnervingly fragile despite the reality that in some situations our human body is surprisingly resilient and strong. Perhaps that is why God has given us priorities, in the hope of abundant life, and at least Seven Things to Develop our Willingness to Trust God.

Scripture: Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NRSV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.

Proverbs 3:5-8 (NRSV)

Message: Did you ever have to write a compare and contrast essay in school? I imagine that you did. Jeremiah gives us an excellent example of such an academic exercise. He compares and contrasts dried up plants in the desert with strong fruitful trees, deliberately and carefully placed where they would be bound to flourish. Here we discover that trusting God is important for our health. Trusting God is about our life and the priorities we must choose to receive it. As God’s people we are to put our ultimate trust in the Lord and to act on that trust. Then if we feed on Christ, the Water of Life, He will keep us spiritually healthy and producing fruit and shade in abundance to share. That is the result of trust in God.

So today’s devotional is really about our need to strategically set priorities that encourage the development of trust each day.  Trust in times of adversity and trust times of plenty and trust in God Himself not just His instruments of provision. Friends, trust is a key to victorious living… to abundant living. Here we discover overwhelming evidence that there is a healthy purpose to trusting God for which we should be extremely thankful. We do not know what is over the horizon but we can trust that God knows, pushing back the demands of the day. Friends, because God is omnipotent we are able to accomplish more in less time when we give ourselves to God and align with the King of the Universe in rich communion sorting out what is important and discovering that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is just the down payment for those willing to trust God. Here are seven things to meditate through this morning to a deeper trust in God. Seven things to improve our health and hopefully our willingness to trust God more each day:

1. We are to trust in the next breath of fresh air to remind us of the Spirit for without breath we die in a few minutes.
2. We are to trust in the light and warmth of God’s wisdom to show us the way to take the next step for without vision my people will perish….our living depends on light.
3. We are to trust in the abiding righteousness and healing touch of God found in temperance transformed by the renewing of the mind to prove what is acceptable and perfect in the will of God… for the wages of sin is death.
4. We are to trust in the purposeful peace that brings us rest and the renewal of an enduring relationship in the rhythm of sleep and the awareness of God coming awake in us again each new day. A restful night recharges our cognitive and motor skills. Eleven days without sleep and our bodies stop to function.
5. We are to trust that if we exercise our bodies and minds in our walk, in step with Christ, that when the race of faith is done that God will give us the strength and grace to be victorious. What we do not use we lose.
6. We are to trust in the deep water of God’s love for without water we die in a few days. Like streams of living water bursting from a living spring cleansing us, God’s love is to flow through us bringing life.
7. We are to trust in the nutrition found in God’s Word made flesh, like in the fruit of a tree yielding seed, for without food we die in a few weeks.

Friends, we are to trust God enough to spend time with God as a priority as if our life and health depends on it…for it does.

Pray we stop putting God on hold. Pray we trust God with responsibility for our hearts. Pray that we learn to trust God’s provision from day to day. Pray we look to God trusting that our Lord has our best interests at heart. Pray we trust Jesus to satisfy our deep thirst. Pray we let go of the past trusting in God’s forgiveness. Pray we trust in the Holy Spirit’s presence. Pray we trust in God’s promises. Pray we trust in Jesus and never reject Him. Pray we trust Jesus to prepare a place for us in this life and the next. Pray we not wither and dry up and be of no use to anyone. Pray we trust in God and be well watered, giving fruit and shade to others. Pray we rejoice with thanks in development of a healthy life with God as our priority each day.

Blessings,

John Lawson