TRUSTING GOD CAN BE HARD
No matter your journey, putting your trust in God can be hard. My journey isn’t a traumatic one, but I still have moments where I have a hard time trusting God. It has its scars and lessons learned, just like everyone else’s journey. In this blog article, I will share my personal testimony on how hard it can be for me to put my trust in God.
5 Put all your hope in God, not looking to your reason for support. 6 In all your ways give ear to him, and he will make straight your footsteps. 7 Put no high value on your wisdom: let the fear of the Lord be before you, and keep yourself from evil: 8 This will give strength to your flesh, and new life to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8 (BBE)
BEFORE I WAS SAVED
I grew up in the church, and we went to church most Sundays. My sisters and I went to Sunday school, along with first communion and confirmation classes. Because of this, I have always had a basic knowledge of the Bible. Basic knowledge does not mean I have always had a personal relationship with God.
I went to church through high school because I had to, and as soon as I was on my own I stopped going. I didn’t read my Bible or pray regularly, but I knew who God was, and I did believe He existed. My relationship with God was on and off, more off than it was on. I don’t consider myself saved at that time in my life because I only had a personal relationship with God when my emotions were at a low point, which brings me to my second reason. I never put my trust in God. I believed He existed, had knowledge of Him, sometimes I would talk to Him, but I didn’t put my trust in Him.
WHEN I BECAME SAVED
It was hard for me to admit that I was not “saved”. I did not like that word because this was something that was not taught in the church where I grew up. A personal relationship with God was never taught, so I didn’t believe I had to do anything special to go to Heaven. I had knowledge and some pray time, that was all I needed. Eventually, I started reading the Bible and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and heart to the true meaning of the word saved. (Mark 16:16, John 3:17 and Luke 10:9)
Once I became preserved in Christ (Jude 1:1), I still had a hard time putting all my trust in God. It is hard going from thinking my future is in my hands to knowing that my life is in God’s hands. That was a huge change for me, and it didn’t happen overnight. I understood I was responsible for my choices, good or bad, but I had a hard time accepting that the overall scheme of life was in God’s control, not mine.
GROWING IN MY FAITH
I have been saved for over 25 years and still have moments when I lack putting my trust in God. This generally happens when I do not feel close to God. Even though God is always with us (Hebrews 13:15-16), the Holy Spirit is always in us (I John 4:13), and Jesus intercedes on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25), God will quiet Himself. I have found that this often happens when I initiate the quiet time, for example, a lack of prayer and reading the Bible on my part will make me feel far away from God.
When I do not feel God’s presence, and difficult moments, decisions, fear, and struggles show themselves, my spirit struggles and I begin to ask myself if I can put my trust in God. This is because I don’t see God showing me the path to take, I don’t feel His comfort or support. This is often harder than the struggle itself.
HOW TO OVERCOME AND TRUST GOD
Proverbs 3:5-8 is a very popular go-to verse for Christian’s who are struggling with putting their trust in God. It is my go-to verse as well. This particular verse tells us to put our faith in God and not ourselves. It also says to acknowledge and fear God and to stay away from evil. If we live out this verse, we will draw close to God in a way that shows Him reverence and gives Him the glory that He deserves. When we do this we will begin to trust Him who deserves to be trusted.
We hope you search our website, Christian Fellowshipping, for more encouraging ways to fellowship with God and other believes. To learn about salvation and what it means read What is Salvation and God’s Promise of Salvation, it will guide you through this with scripture.