Psalm 37:1-3 is a great promise for us in God's Word. It says, "Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture" (NIV).
These verses reassure us that we don't need to be worried about everything wrong that's happening in the world, because God is still in control. And He's going to take care of us as long as we trust Him and do good.
But we all have times when we wonder, "Is God really going to come through for me? Can I really trust Him... or do I need to have a backup plan? If God doesn't come through quickly enough, how long am I willing or prepared to wait for Him to act?"
The truth is, whether or not you can trust God depends on whether you're trying to get Him to give you what YOU want, or what HE wants. In other words, are you trusting Him to do His perfect will for you, in His perfect timing and in His way?
It's good for us to tell God what we want and to ask Him for help when we need it. But sometimes we think we know what is right for us, or we want something so badly we feel we just have to have it; so instead of trusting God to do what is best, we tell Him what He needs to do.
We need to realize that we really are not smart enough to deal with the problems we face on our own. And when we don't trust God, we end up trying to make something happen that only He can do, which just makes us frustrated.
I've discovered that no matter how badly I want something, I need to pray, "God, if what I want is not what You want for me, then please don't give it to me. I want to do Your will in this situation, and I'm trusting You to give me what You want for me."
This is especially important in situations where we don't understand why things are happening the way they are. I remember when God told me to quit my job so I could stay home and study the Word more. This was the season when He was preparing me for full-time ministry.
It was so hard because without me working, we were $40 short of what we needed each month just to pay our bills. I would go to garage sales to buy clothes for my kids, and we kept giving and tithing as God spoke to our hearts to do it. For six years we had to have a miracle every month in our finances, and it didn't make any sense to me at all why it was taking so long for us to get a breakthrough in our situation.
But I understand now that God was teaching me how to trust Him for every little thing I needed every day. Everything I went through with God during those six years prepared me to do what we're doing in ministry now. And it takes a lot more to keep the ministry going today than what we needed to pay our bills back then.
I'm so glad God helped me stay determined not to give up or try to meet all of our needs in my own strength. I needed those years of being home full-time to study the Word and apply the biblical principles I was learning practically in my own life before I could do what I'm doing today.
You know, it doesn't do any good to just know the Word in your head – you have to know it by experience through your relationship with God. We need to experience the faithfulness of God in our lives to grow in our trust in Him. I can honestly say now that some of the times I treasure most happened during those six years when God came through for us in miraculous ways. I didn't always get what I wanted, but God always provided everything I needed.
You're not going to know for sure if you can trust God until you have to step out in faith and experience His faithfulness. I want to encourage you today: Don't give up on what God has put in your heart to do! No matter how hard it is to trust Him, be determined to keep doing everything He shows you to do.
As the Amplified Bible says in Psalm 37:3, "Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed." God is faithful, and you really can trust Him!
