Trusting God in Life Challenges
Study Text: Proverbs 3: 5 - 8
Introduction:
- Life is unpredictable, but full of ups and downs along the way. These challenges come at different stages of life, and in varying degrees and durations.
- Many people can look up unto God and trust Him when times are good. But when challenging and difficult times come, only few people can keep holding on unto God.
- God’s unchanging character and faithfulness can give us a firm foundation and a hope when things feel unsteady, challenging and uncertain.
- Our Study Text reveals to us three distinct ways that God can help us, not in preventing the challenging times, but in making us to remain steadfast and immovable during the challenges, and subsequently overcome them.
- We shall consider these three ways systematically, and trust God to give us understanding and grace to apply them for our blessings during the challenges of life.
1. God Demands Our Faith
2. God Defines Our Focus
3. God Determines Our Future
1. God Demands Our Faith
- The first instruction to us during the challenges of life is to trust God with all our hearts. That is God demands our faith in Him.
- To trust is to believe in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something. So, when it comes to trusting God, that means believing in His reliability, His Word, His ability, and His strength.
- The Bible says that God cannot lie. That He always keeps His promises. That He loves you and has good in store for you. Trusting in Him means believing that what He says about Himself, about the world and about you is true.
- Trusting God is more than a feeling; it is a choice to have faith in what He says even when your feelings or circumstances would have you believe something different.
- Trusting God is not about ignoring your feelings or reality. It is not pretending that everything is alright when it is not. Trusting God is living a life of absolute faith in and obedience to God even when it is difficult.
- After establishing the need to trust God, how exactly can you do that in your everyday life?
1. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
- Because God loves you, you can build your trust in Him by talking about all your feelings and circumstances with Him, the good and hard, through prayer. Philippians 4: 6 - 7
- Do not let your emotions rule your life; bring them to God so He can help you address them. He is not disappointed or frustrated by your struggles, doubts or pain. He cares about you, and you can trust Him with those things.
2. Delight in His Words and meditate upon it day and night. Psalm 1: 2
- When you trust God, you will go to Him in His word when life is hard. You will also act in obedience to His Word, and have the confidence that He will ultimately take care of the rest.
- The Bible records ways God has responded in difficult times in the past. It reminds you that He is trustworthy whatever your circumstances. Many people in Scripture even reference other parts of Scripture to encourage themselves and those around them.
3. Expect His help and intervention as the only hope
- In trust, you do not look for security in other things; you look to God as the only hope to hold you securely in difficult circumstances. 2 Chronicles 20: 1 - 12
- Knowing that God is for you, and that He will do something for you, will strengthen your trust in Him during times of hardship and the unknown.
- Faithfully continue to seek the Lord, but wait on His timing. Wait on Him to act on your behalf. Wait on Him to do what you cannot do yourself.
- Waiting on the Lord reminds you that you are not in control. He is bigger than any of your circumstances. He will sustain you and grow your faith in the waiting.
- God is never neglecting your life. If He seems to be silent, remember His promise that He is always hearing your prayers and responding. Psalm 34:17
4. Confront your fears and confess your unbelief
- You can tell God how you feel and in what areas of your life you are struggling to trust Him.
First, it is good to acknowledge that His character is good and trustworthy. You can agree with Him that all He says is true. You can also tell Him when it is difficult for you to believe. Mark 9:24
- Confession helps you to humble yourself and allows you to grow in trust. He hears your requests and answers them and He wants to help you grow your faith.
5. Be thankful over His blessings in the past, and over your current situation.
- Difficult circumstances appear all-consuming at times and make it really hard to see past them to other good things going on. But God’s grace is in all things.
- But those good times often get overshadowed by other more complicated things going on. In the face of those difficulties, God shares His will for you and how you should respond to them. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
- God calls you to give thanks. He is always working in your life and in the world. In the moments when everything appears to be falling apart, it can be hard to see how the Good Father is at work, but know His mercy is consistent. Romans 8: 28
2. God Defines Our Focus
- The second instruction that can help us says: do not lean on your own understanding.
- Our own understanding is limited, fallible, and subject to errors. We must therefore be enlightened by God's word and Spirit. Romans 8: 9 - 16
- To lean on our own understanding rather than to trust God magnifies the human mind against the ability of the Spirit of God.
- Dependence on human reason rather than trusting God leads to pride and spiritual depreciation. We should rather demonstrate our trust in God by asking Him for wisdom and knowledge of His will continually in all spheres of our lives.
- We sometimes think things will be easier if we take things into our own hands, and handle it in our own way. Nobody ever said having faith in God would be easy, but it is the best thing to do, and here is why.
1. God knows all things better than we do
- God knows everything we are going through at this very moment and everything we will go through in the future.
- He knows the best way to handle every situation so we get the best possible outcome and we need to trust him with that. We need to follow his path and trust that he knows best, because he does. James 1: 5 - 8
2. God can do all things, and He is not limited as we are.
- He knows the desires of your heart. If you trust in him with the things that you want most, he will take care of it.
- He knows what is best for your life. If you feel like your goals are hard to achieve or even impossible, God can do all things. He has your back and will help you through anything, all you have to do is have faith. Mark 9:23
3. God is dependable and trustworthy
- God never fails in His words and promises, and when we depend on Him, we can never be disappointed.
- God knows what is best, but to truly embrace what he has planned for you, you have to fully trust in Him, for our God is both faithful and dependable.
4. God has the best plans, and will do it in His ways and at His time.
- God knows exactly what he wants for your life. He has a purpose for you and has everything planned out.
- He knows who you are going to marry, how many kids you are going to have, what job you will have and every other detail of your life, both big and small.
- He knows what you are going to do tomorrow, next month and years down the road. Do not doubt his plan, because he knows all and he has a perfect plan.
3. God Determines Our Future
- The third instruction that can help us during the challenges of life is : In all your ways acknowledge God, and He shall direct your path.
- When we enthrone the word of God in our hearts, our priorities are dictated and our paths are directed by God.
- We have a blessed assurance that Jesus has our best interest and our best end in sight. Mathew 11: 28 - 30
- We must recognise that we can do nothing without Him, and must be willing to get Him involve in every situation of our lives from the onset.
- In all our plans, decisions, and activities, we should acknowledge God as Lord and His will as our supreme desire.
- Every day, we must live in a close, trusting relationship with God, always looking to Him for direction. When we do this, God promises to direct our paths.
- He will lead us to His goal for our lives, remove all obstacles and enable us to make the right choices.
Conclusion:
- As God's children, we can be assured that our heavenly father loves us and will faithfully care for us. Mathew 10: 31
- God will guide us rightly, give us grace and keep His promises in the most difficult times of our lives if we commit our our ways to the Lord and trust Him to work on our behalf.
