No Matter What, I'm Gonna Trust You!

"No matter what…I’m gonna trust you.” Do we honestly mean it when we say that statement; or has it become cliché?

We go before God in prayer and tell Him we are going to trust Him. We are in the midst of situations and we tell God we will trust Him. We tell our friends and colleagues we trust God…but, do we really?

Our entire life and purpose is guided by this truth…trusting God.

It is easy to trust God when everything surrounding our life is going the way we want it to go. What about the times when God has a different direction He wants to go and you don’t see that direction so clearly? Do you trust Him, or do you question Him?

What about those we are connected with in leadership? What about our spouse? What happens when there is a difference of opinion? Do we still trust God? Can we trust God to work in the lives of those who are our leaders or our spouse? For some it may be a little more difficult?

But, you know what? That is when we have the opportunity to live out our trust in God. We get to exercise that trust. Others will have the pleasure, or the annoying realization, of witnessing the way we respond to trusting God, when things do not go the way we think is best.

There have been many times I have looked back and regretted the way I handled and dealt with situations, I thought should have been handled differently. I am praying I have matured a little since those times, but you know what? I still have to remind myself that God is in control. He can speak through others and if it doesn’t go the way I think…that’s ok. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Our personalities and the way we do things are ingrained in our being, and they have to come under the submission of the Holy Spirit often.

It is imperative we remember that spiritual maturity is an ongoing process. We never arrive at the place where we say we don’t need to mature. If we do, then we definitely need to mature some more. We have more to learn.

What happens when a leader over you has a good idea and you have a good idea; or you feel the leader is not moving as fast as they should? How do you handle it when you and your spouse disagree on an issue? If they choose their idea how do you respond? Do you give them a hard time? How do you encourage them…or do you?

Take a look at Abraham. We all know the story of how God told him to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. Read what The Message says in Gen. 22:1-2, “After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Yes?’ answered Abraham, ‘I’m listening.’ He said, ‘Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I’ll point out to you.’”

When Isaac asked Abraham where the sheep was for the offering Abraham answered in verse 8, “…Son, God will see to it that there’s a sheep for the burnt offering.”

What do you think was going through Abraham’s mind? I know we have heard this many times, but I want us to remember it for a moment. God had just promised Abraham that his descendents were going to be numerous. God also told Abraham to send Ishmael away and that this blessing was going to come through Sarah. So how was this going to play out if he sacrificed his son Isaac?

Abraham trusted God to the very end. Isaac was on the altar and God called out in verse 12, “Don’t lay a hand on that boy! Don’t touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God, you didn’t hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me.”

Can we lay down our dreams, our desires, the things that mean most to us for the leader we are following, or for our spouse? This is a hard question; but one we so need to answer. Are we willing to trust God in these situations? Can God look at us and say the following?

“Now I know how fearlessly you fear God, you didn’t hesitate to place your dream (that thing that means the most to you) on the altar for me.”

This is very, very difficult, but if we can do this there is so much more God will be able to do in our lives.

How much are we willing to sacrifice for God?