“Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Psalm 3:5-6
NIV)
God doesn’t
promise to make our life perfect and problem-free. Instead, he promises to give
us the life we are meant to have, and even that seems to come through difficult
circumstances. Only God can make something good of what appears to be difficult
and seemingly impossible.
This week,
we’ve been looking at happiness and what that really represents. For many us we
have made happiness an emotion when really it is a state of being. Blessed is a
position we stand in, and being blessed is not just having good things
happening all the time. There are and will be difficult moments. But we can
stand and say we are blessed because our God‘s hand is upon us, surrounds us,
protects us, and holds us from being overtaken. Part of having faith in God is
expecting Him to bless our life. If we step back and take a deep breathe we can
see the blessing of God’s hand all around us. He has a plan for us. He wants to
make our life all it’s meant to be —
not all we want it to be, but all he
wants it to be. He always has our best interests in mind. Sometimes our trust
will be challenged but we need hang onto what we know and let truth prevails.
Honestly speaking there are moments I have not seen God respond the way I have
wanted and even asked, but I choose to put my shoulders back and tell myself I
am blessed. My wife is blessed by our God and He is with us every step. So in
spite of what we may see HE prevails and then so do we!!
When we
understand what we can be in God, walk on the path He sets for us, and do what
He is asking, that’s when Satan typically reminds us of all we have to give up
in order to obey. The lie does have some validity—you will have to give up a
defeated life, a negative way to think and dark outlook on life and you don’t
hear what will replace all this.
Psalm 34:8
says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take
refuge in him!” (NLT). That’s great news! When I trust in God—or take refuge in
him—He brings joy, hope, peace and even love. Instead of thinking of what we
have to give up when we trust and obey God, the Lord wants us to remember the
joy we’ll find when we obey.
I was
remembering years ago my wife and I were able to spend time with our
granddaughter. We can really see this truth in the lives of little people. One
time, she was swimming in her little pool in our backyard. Every time she’d get
out of the pool and shiver and say grandma I am cold, her grandmother would dry
her off. So she would walk back to her pool jump in just to get wet, and walk
back to grandma to get dried off again. That’s a smart girl. She knows where
her needs are going to be met. She went back to grandma because she expected
grandma to dry her off again. And grandma did—every time!
That’s the
kind of relationship God wants with us. It’s what faith is all about—expecting
God to act on our behalf even if it’s not your way HE is acting on your behalf.
Please choose to believe it!
You might
think, “God hasn’t always come through for me. He hasn’t always done what I
expected of him.” How could he? God is so much greater than we are. There is so
much we don’t understand about God. But I know I can trust him to love me no
matter what. God will be here for me from now to eternity. Faith is expecting
that even in the midst of what you’re facing now, God will keep loving you and
keep being faithful. He’ll keep his plan all the way through eternity.
Psalm 42:11
says, “Oh, my soul, don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act!”
(TLB). I've not always gotten what I wanted, but I can say without a shadow of
a doubt that God has never let me down. He's never failed to act on my behalf
when that’s what I’ve needed.
Expect Him
to act. He won’t let you down.
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