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eternity

Trusting God in Tough Times: Trusting God No Matter What

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It’s inevitable. Tough times will come along during our lives. A pastor friend once told me something along these lines: “You’re either coming out of a time of struggle, in the midst of a difficult time, or heading toward a challenging time.” The Christian life (or any life) is not always a bed of roses—and the Bible doesn’t promise us a life free from trouble. This week, let’s take a Scriptural look at trusting God through difficult circumstances.

 

Trusting God No Matter What

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” 

Psalm 56:3-4, NIV

Skydiving_FRIDAYThis week, we have talked about times when it’s difficult to trust God—when bad things happen, when He seems silent, and when we don’t understand God’s plan. Ultimately, the goal is learning to trust God no matter what happens.

Sometimes, we must choose to trust even when we don’t feel like it, even when we’re afraid. In the face of difficult circumstances, we can choose to believe in God’s faithfulness and trust the outcome to Him. It won’t always be easy. Trusting in God may not be our human nature’s first inclination. But when we shift our focus to an eternal perspective, the troubles of this world can begin to fade away.

I want to come back to a verse I originally shared on Monday. This verse in 2 Corinthians gives us clear guidance regarding the struggle to maintain an eternal perspective:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NIV

Remember that the struggles we experience in this world won’t be present in eternity. God doesn’t promise us a life in this world without trouble or trials. However, God does promise to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to walk through it all with us—and to be with us always (Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 41:10).

As we learn to rest in the peace of His presence, we can praise God even in the midst of the trials and struggles we will inevitably face in this life. Trusting the Lord requires courage and faith. I believe it’s a lifelong journey of learning to lean on His promises and faithfulness.

When storms come your way, I pray you won’t lose heart. Instead, remember that you are safe in the arms of a sovereign and loving God. Your circumstances do not take Him by surprise, and He is fully able to do what He has promised.

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20-21, NIV

Learning to trust more fully,

Allison

Savoring Your Season: Even In Waiting

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Life is full of seasons other than spring, summer, fall and winter. Childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; single, dating, engaged and married. We have healthy and unhealthy seasons, ones of flourishing and of pruning, and every high and low in between. I’ve been one to say I’m in a season of waiting just as often as I say I’m in a season of going. Too often, we lose sight of the present season for looking too much on the seasons past or future. Let’s take some time this week to be honest about our seasons – mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally – and learn to savor and soak in where we are now.

 

Even In Waiting

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart…

fridayEcclesiastes 3:11

Waiting is one of my least favorite things in the world, yet I feel like I am always waiting on something. Whether it’s a vanilla latte or a visa in my passport, a Prince Charming or a new job, waiting seems to be a constant in my life.

Too often we have the wrong perspective on waiting. We get stuck in the mentality that “Life will finally start when _____:” I get promoted. I get married. I buy a house. You fill in the blank with whatever it is that you’re waiting on. I’m so guilty of functioning under the belief that happiness and ability to serve the Lord only comes when all of my ducks are in a row, but that’s just not the case.

Every season is deliberate and infused with God’s presence, and it’s ours for the taking. We can choose to be present in our seasons of waiting, but too often we catch glimpses of what’s ahead or think we know what we want to happen and then lose sight of what is here and now. We push and barrel forward, praying for a change in seasons, and miss what is right in front of us.

We were created with an ache for a different season because God has put eternity in our hearts. The desire we feel for what’s next is rooted in God’s desire for us, that we would seek first the Kingdom and chase after the home awaiting us.

Our mortal lives will always be marked by waiting for what’s next, but we can learn to be present in the waiting. We can learn to seek and praise God in each season of waiting, to take what His hands have dealt and to worship in the in-betweens of life.

We will find the most fulfillment when we are living out God’s will for us in the seasons He has placed us in. Choosing to seek His higher perspective on our current circumstances and taking His view on our seasons rather than our own makes all the difference.

Chelsey