By Nathan Gudmanz
Trust can be a tricky thing for us humans, we often trust, but still try to control the situations we find ourselves in. Truly trusting Jesus is one of the most freeing things any of us could do. In most cases, giving up control is scary, but with God, it gives us an amazing sense of peace and lets Him do all the working for our good.
1) Prayer life
I think one of the biggest ways I’ve learnt to trust in the Lord is through my prayer life. When feeling stressed in my later years of high school, I came across the verse of Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) which says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” I found doing quick ‘popcorn prayers’ throughout the day, about any thoughts or worries I had, to be extremely helpful. No matter how big or small, or strange or normal the worry was, I prayed about it. Without even noticing, my mind would become at peace, and I would stop trying to control everything. Jesus wants us to call on Him for help and He will always come through for us!
2) Seek Him in every aspect of your life
The ever-important words of Jesus are as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus reminds us, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” This verse has always stuck with me and when I started putting it into practice, I couldn’t believe the results. When I started diving deeper and being more consistent about reading the Bible every day, I stopped thinking about what I didn’t have and started enjoying what was around me. In fact, as the verse says, the things I was worrying and praying about were answered. He provided for me more abundantly than I could’ve hoped. I have found that seeking His kingdom sets us on the right path, the path He planned for our lives before He spoke light into the world. What’s more is in Psalm 119:105 it says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” This means not only do we get situated on the right path by seeking Him, but His word will also help us make the right choices and decisions. What a great God we serve!
3) Look around
Looking around at all the good God has done and is doing, is the best encouragement you will find to keep going and trust Him. We have a natural ability to compare ourselves, our situations, and our lives with others and for the most part it is not a good thing. It makes us jealous and unhappy, not realizing what we have. However, I think that sometimes in the church context a bit of healthy comparison can be exactly what we need. Seeing and hearing testimonies from people in our church reminds us about how God is always working, whether that’s in the form of providing a job or finances, providing healing, or breaking through in a long-awaited area. The testimonies in our church on a Sunday morning are one of the things I look forward to most. Here’s where our ability to compare actually helps us: it automatically links their testimony to our life and what we’re hoping for. And if God came through for them, you can be sure that at the right time, He’ll come through for you. It’s a misconception that miracles don’t happen today, they are all around us, big and small. American CCM artist Cade Thompson says it beautifully in his song “look around”: “If you wanna believe in miracles, Just look around look around look around, You’ll see it, you’ll see it, If you wanna see that they’re possible, Just look around look around look around, You’ll believe it, believe it, I’ve seen redemption, In prayers that were answered, Love breakin’ through the deepest of wounds that’s Something only God can do, I’ve seen the one come back to the 99, Seen the hopeless reach the other side, Time after time after time.” So yes, I can even trust in the Lord for the impossible miracles I face!
4) Look back at what He’s led you to
To be able to trust in God for His plan for your future, look back at all the prayers you made and where you are now because of Him. I look back at my own life and all the steps I’ve taken with my parents, from staying back in grade R, to moving to a new high school, and I see His provision. He put me in the place I was meant to be, and I thrived there as a result. I also saw incredible personal growth that all came from Him. Don’t look back with regret, but with hope for the future. Ultimately, we just must trust in the Lord for He will finish what he started. In the New Testament it states, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” -Philippians 1:6. So dare to imagine and believe in Him for your future, He’s the ultimate hope and trust.
5) He does, and has done so much for us
The bible is a book full of God’s love for us. At every step, He always loved His people, even when they disobeyed and sinned against Him repeatedly. He even sent His one and only Son to live amongst us and die to save us from any condemnation arising from our sins, something we could never begin to understand the magnitude of. He provided countless miracles and gave us all the tools we’d need to survive this world and live more like Jesus. So, if this is the God we follow, there is no reason to not trust in Him alone! God promises that “He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber.”
Moreover, if you need another reason to trust Him, he says in Isaiah 40:31, “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”- He even helps us to continue and run the race with endurance, all we need to do is hope in Him.