You don’t have to understand God to trust God.
Oh, what a work that He does in us. That sometimes we think Him either absent or reckless in the process. It is often only in hindsight that we can see things from His viewpoint. Though we may not understand His ways, we can trust Him in His ways.
I was born with a cruel error in my senses in which normal sights and sounds cause me pain. It makes it hard to be around people, and often completely unbearable. Before I was saved I used to think that either there was no God, or He was not a loving God, as why would He have done this to me?
Successful suffering is continuing to trust God in the midst of your suffering. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…” (Job 13:15).
Several years ago, I had a burden of the Lord to serve in the prison ministry. I signed up for a training class and the first day was impossibly painful. Being in a group setting is often too hard for me. On the way to the second day of training I was very angry at God. I knew what He wanted me to do, but it made no sense. Why me?
Trusting God does not mean you understand your circumstances, only that you know He will carry you through them. “And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him” (Psalm 37:40).
I was driving my truck to this next class through a heavy rain storm. I was yelling at God in my anger, telling Him, “You can’t ask me to do this. I don’t know enough. I am not good enough. I can’t speak in front of people. I can’t even be around people. You know I can’t do this! You’re the one that broke me, how dare You ask me!”. Then I slammed my fist on the steering wheel.
We always share the most with those we trust the most. I want you to know, you can always trust your Father enough to tell Him how you feel. What you tell God reveals all.
Right then my truck hit a pothole in the freeway and started hydroplaning out of control. Then it happened, my life was forever changed, for the first time I heard the voice of the Lord. It was a whisper into my heart and He said only two words, “Trust Me”. At that very moment the truck regained control and I drove straight ahead to the class.
You must first trust in God to get you through it before He will lead the way. Follow Him whether you see the victory or not. “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5).
Fast-forward a few years later and I was standing in front of seventy men inside a prison chapel. I preached my first message and it was called, “In God we trust”. I carry a copy of that message in my Bible to this day. I spent several blessed years teaching and preaching in several prisons before He called me out to start an online writing ministry. I heard Him whisper into my heart to name this ministry, “He has you”.
Sometimes God won’t part the sea until we trust Him to do it. “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward'” (Exodus 14:15).
To this day when I write or speak, I fall before the Lord and cry out to Him that I cannot do it. Then I surrender all and trust Him to do it through me. No matter your obstacles, you can always trust God. His calling on your life is not by your abilities, but by His.
The problem is never if God can do, but do we believe He can. And if we believe, do we trust He will do the right thing? Trust Him.
He will not take you up the mountain until you first learn to trust Him in the valley. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me…” (Psalm 23:4).
If you can only trust someone half the time, then you really can’t trust them at all. The same is true with your trust towards the Lord Jesus. Until you learn to trust Him in everything, you will struggle to trust Him in even the littlest of things.
Trust Him when it makes sense not to.
Trust Him when you don’t want to.
It’s easy to trust God until you really have to. And it is there that our lessons begin. “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8).
Sometimes the only thing we can do is to trust Him and then say, “Selah”.
Our problem is that we trust ourselves too much, and trust in the Lord too little.
The world says God helps those who help themselves. The Word says God helps those who trust in Him. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped…” (Psalm 28:7).
Maturing in Jesus Christ is not that you know more but that you trust more.
You will never be wrong when you trust in the Lord.
Blessings to you,
Paul
All Scripture is in red and uses the NKJV (New King James Version) translation unless otherwise noted.
Thanks Paul I really love your messages trusting God is the most important thing one time I was in the far away desert there was no one to see no one to talk to and i needed to call someone on my phone but I had no credit on my phone but God do miracles just within no minute I received a message asking me to dail a number and get airtime and when i did it I got the airtime so I got a big lesson from that miracle God want me to only trust Him
We have the God who can do the impossible!
Paul I have been rereading your message and felt something I have been crying to God up to now to help me discovere His call on my life last year I was put in prison for one month but these days I get dreams of prison I managed to go back and visit those I had left there but I don’t know why I get those dreams and also I used to get dreams when I was putting on military uniforms and was in war fighting can u help me Paul because I rally would like to know God’s call on my life.may be to tell u when I was in prison I got a dream speaking to people encouraging them so really paul I just pray God use you and I know my call because I have prayed for it asking God for long but I see no way.
Search the article on my site called “The Call of God” and see what you might glean from that. But truly the way to know His call is to get alone with Him that you might then hear it. Blessings to you on your journey!
I am grateful for this message. I have risen to a fairly good level of trust but now He is bringing me higher. My dear friend has an incurable brain cancer. He keeps having encounters with Jesus and having his body respond to Jesus’ touch. My faith is growing as we pray into Jesus will and receive His amazing tender care. For with God NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
Praise be to God to hear about that there times when we have to turn our faces to the wall and pray to God that His will may be done and that’s the encounter with God i just encourage u to lifte your faith more God is gone heal him
Thank you!
That is so precious that the presence of the Lord Jesus is with your friend! We have a mighty healing Jesus yet to this day. The one thing I know is that to whatever level we get to, yet the Lord is ready to take us even higher yet. Praying for your ministry to your friend, that by the Holy Spirit through you the Lord Jesus would continue to minister to your friend.
Thank you Paul. Your messages reveal just what I need at the right time.
Thank you! It is such a joy to serve the Lord.
Dear Paul
Thank for your words has the Holy Spirit guides you writ these blogs. I believe in Jesus Christ and he is a wonderful saviour. But, when I was young I was sexually abuse I have trouble trusting God to protect me children. So I thank got this blog in trusting when we don’t understand.
Thank you so much for your kind words. It is only by the grace of God that any of us can serve God. I am so sorry for what you had to endure as a child and pray that He has or will give you a deep inner healing for all you went through. Prayers for your faith to grow and your ministry to others to flourish, in the name of Jesus, amen.
1Pe 4:19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Thank you Dan, that is a most precious verse. We have such a faithful Creator!
If we always knew why we were suffering, our faith would have no room to grow…. Jesus has taught me that life isn’t full of answers, it is full of promises. He promises to walk through our suffering with us. He will never leave us or forsake us……
This was such an amazing word for me this morning, thank you so much. I am so lifted by what you said here: “Jesus has taught me that life isn’t full of answers, it is full of promises”. That is a good and solid word.
It is through the sufferings that we get to understand the grace of God which we didn’t deserve; but he loved us so much that he didn’t want us to perish. He gave us his son as a living sacrifice to die on a cross to pay for our sins and bring us into right standard with his Father God. Until you have an encounter wit h the Lord himself it is impossible to understand how God truly loves. Being a sacrifice as Romans 12:1-3 .states, is a challenge for many, but through the grace of God he has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us on the right path. God knew that we couldn’t do it in our own human flesh but only through the Holy Spirit. To trust is choice because you believe in a person because you are connected to them and have a relationship with that person. I love God because He has brought me through through so many situations that I could not have survive if it was not for his grace. I am not perfect and have many flaws but I thank God for the intimacy that I am not ashamed to testify about how great an awesome God is who sent us his son in human for to show us how to live, love, forgive, and to love others as he loved us. Thanking you for sharing your stories that are interesting and always to the glory of God!
Such a good word, Ruth! Your teaching is always solid!