Trust can be a tricky tightrope, particularly when you feel like your trust has been betrayed or when the circumstances all seem contrary to what you believe. So here are a couple of thoughts about trusting in ourselves, other people & God.
In short, I’m not too keen to put lots of trust in people or even in myself, since we are humans with flaws, weaknesses, failures, etc. On the flip side, trusting in God has lots better results, even when it seems difficult. But in all honesty, I’ve also been disappointed in God sometimes when I have a short term mindset. However, when I think about God’s intense & immense love for me, along w Rom 8:28-29 (all things work together for good . . . .), my trust & confidence in God increase. And best of all, the more & better that I trust God then the deeper our relationship grows. Indeed, trust is an essential ingredient for intimacy 
Posts Tagged 'trust'
When trust is difficult
Published May 3, 2012 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 2 CommentsTags: grow, intimacy, lean, trust
what is impossible?
Published November 30, 2011 Cambodia , Holy Spirit , living , missions , prayer , saving moses , spiritual 3 CommentsTags: aspirations, confidence, dreams, faith, Father, goals, help!, impossible, possible, trust
Sometimes it seems like my life is filled with impossibilities – things I want to accomplish, but they seem almost stupid to consider because of the difficulties associated with these things. One of these things is my dream with Saving Moses to see Night Care become a multiplied reality throughout all of Asia (Night care is the care & oversight for infants & toddlers during the evening hours while their moms are working in prostitution. On this topic, please do not judge the importance of this project, based on the profession of these moms). Nevertheless, many of these dreams & goals seem more than lofty – they seem impossible, when I only look at them.
However, when I look at these dreams in the context of my loving Heavenly Father, I sometimes feel like my dreams are too small, based on the immensity of my Father. So in this conundrum, I find myself taking one day at a time, making a little progress here & there, but knowing in my heart that no dream is impossible with God, including yours!!
stress relief
Published April 13, 2011 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 1 CommentTags: focus, help!, peace, storms, stress, trust
Ok, here’s some transparency – I’m kind of stressed at this moment. There are alot of moving parts in my life right now & it seems that whatever topic that I focus on leaves me stressed. I know that there are seasons of pressure times in life & we all get to learn to manage through those seasons with hopefully few, if any, casualties.
Nevertheless, the last few days & evenings have had some intensely stressful moments, but here’s also some encouragement: this morning in my quiet time, as I’m doing my normal Bible reading routine, the verses I read in the NT were about Jesus calming the storm (when He had been sleeping while everyone else was freaking out). Furthermore, I read Ps 94:19, “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.” Finally, the verses I’m memorizing in John start with Jesus saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled – you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
So here’s my take aways that you might also find useful:
- I can have peace in my heart as I fellowship with Jesus regardless of the storms occuring around me
- When I bring Jesus into the storms of my life, He brings peace
- There are times that Jesus wants to work through me to bring peace to stormy situations – blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God (Matt 5)
May the peace of Jesus guard your heart and mind today, my friend
back handsprings – ha!!!
Published March 26, 2010 living , spiritual Leave a CommentTags: dependence, flexible, trust
Flexibility – growing When I was in High School, I played basketball & I really enjoyed my team, the competitions, challenges, etc. For 2 years, I was a forward who was usually the 1st or 2nd substitute to come into the game. My coach really helped me appreciate the contribution I could make to our team in that role as a substitute. During my senior year, one of our key guards got hurt in the 1st game of the season & her injury prohibited her from playing for the rest of the year. My coach talked with me about stepping into this role – he explained that this new role would have new responsibilities, assignments & challenges. From our conversation, I shifted to playing starting guard, something I had never done before but I was excited to start! Unfortunately, I didn’t do as well as I wanted to in that position but for me, the experience was an important contributing influence in learning to be flexible.
Flexible – If you’re like me, we want to be good at what we do. Sometimes, if we’re not careful, this desire translates to only doing what we are good at. No one likes to do poorly or fail. But I think this can cause a dicey problem for us when we genuinely let God direct our lives. Recently, I’ve been in different situations where I need to do things in which I don’t consider myself naturally talented. Like my basketball team in High School, I’m being asked to be a guard & not the forward I’ve gotten used to playing. I sense God asking me to let Him use me in different capacities than what I’ve become comfortable in. While I can’t say that I’m amped to do these things, I am definitely amped to grow in my dependence on God because I’ve found that such dependence on God fosters greater intimacy with Him – one of the key goals of my life. So when I’m in situations where I’m not naturally comfortable or gifted, rather than flounder and try to use any human savy I can muster up, I’m learning to lean into God more. Flexibility can be a path God uses to draw us closer to Him.
God is a Great Provider
Published January 22, 2010 living , spiritual 2 CommentsTags: desire, need, provision, timing, trust, want
I really like the story about Abraham being obedient to God to sacrifice Isaac in Gen 23. I like it for lots of different reasons: it shows what determined obedience looks like, it shows me Abraham’s heart, it shows me some of God’s methods, among many other things. The culmination of the story is when Abraham is about ready to slay his son & God stops him & shows him the ram in the thicket – perfect provision in the nick of time. Which brings me to some thoughts related to our daily living.
There’s a difference between want, need & imminent need. Unfornately, we often get the definitions of want & need mixed up. Thankfully, God helps to clarify that difference from time to time We all have needs & ultimately we need to see God as the answer to those needs. But here’s something to consider: a regular need is different than an imminent need. Abraham needed a ram to sacrifice instead of his son, from the minute he set out to obey God. The further he continued on the obedience path, the greater the need for a ram became. Nevertheless, he was committed to obey God even to the point of believing God could raise Isaac from the dead. But Abraham’s need became critical & imminent when he had tied up Isaac & was ready to plunge a knife into him. That is the moment when God gave Abraham the provision that he needed.
Here’s my point: we can not only trust God to be the provision for our needs but we can also trust in His timing. If He’s not providing something that we feel we need at this moment, the possibility exists that He thinks we don’t need that provision at this moment. And if this is true, then we can trust Him to provide what we need, when we really need it. Trust would be an operative word
never enough & always late
Published July 1, 2009 living , spiritual Leave a CommentTags: inadequate, provision, rely, time, trust
i recently had a fun conversation w 1 of my friends who has recently had her 3rd child. she was lamenting the fact that it always seemed like she was behind, late, sleepy, etc. We were laughing because even before i had children, i was often late, running behind & felt like i was always trying to catch up. Now that i have children, well, let’s just say that i’m occassionally on time & frequently feel like there’s not enough of me & in some ways, i’m ok with that. Maybe you think that i shouldn’t be ok with that & that i should consider managing my time, energy, resources better to avoid these feelings. Seems reasonable to me.
However, if i live life within my margins, it seems to me that i’ll always be limited by my margins. I’m ok with running out of myself & having to rely on God (being irresponsible doesn’t fall into this category). I’m ok with God organizing my time for His purposes, while challenging me to keep my feet fully planted in daily living & its demands. On some days, I’m ok w feeling inadequate as i learn to trust & rely on God more. Somewhere, there needs to be some grace between “should” & “is”.
is rest directly proptional to trust???
Published May 8, 2009 spiritual Leave a CommentTags: intimacy w God, Moses, rest, trust
I’ve been thinking about trust alot – trusting God. if i were to be truthful w myself, i need to get better with trusting God & this is becoming increasingly evident to me as i look at the things & people in which i’ve been trusting. if you’re like me, we put our trust in things that seem to be normal: mate, parents, friends, abilities, education, experience, . . . . We also know that all of these things & people will & have disappointed us from time to time. At various times, if i’m honest, i’ve also been disappointed in God – at least in the short run.
Here’s something i’m becoming really convinced about: trust is an essential component for intimacy. i also think that intimacy & rest are inter-connected. I’ve been musing on these things, this morning, based on the conversation between Moses & God in Ex 33:13-14, where Moses says, “‘If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” 14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
still thinking
wrestling / struggling w God
Published April 28, 2009 living , spiritual Leave a CommentTags: distrust, God, struggles, trust, uncertainty, wrestling
Ever struggled with God? What are some things that you’ve struggled w God about? I’m asking because tomorrow night i’m speaking about wrestling w God from Jacob’s experience in Gen 32. Truthfully, I LOVE this story of the interchange between God & Jacob. Its very gripping to me.
Personally, I’ve wrestled w God about a few things that include: uncertainty in my future, frustrations w various situations, relationships, not trusting God because things didn’t always turn out like i wanted, . . . . These are just a few things & I’m inviting you to share some of the things you’ve wrestled w God about – this would help me w my message & others to see that they’re not alone with this kind of experience.
ever worry about anything???
Published March 18, 2009 living , spiritual 5 CommentsTags: peace, stress, trust, worry
Today, these are some of the things I worried about:
- Isabell having a sore throat
- David’s bday party this weekend
- my message on worry that i’ve been working on (now that’s funny!)
- work & people issues
- getting my schedule mixed up (i was trying to remember what day of the week it was at 530pm – that’s sad)
- the baked chicken being raw (long story)
- finances
Most of us have our list of “concerns”, worries, uncertainties, etc. Here’s something interesting to consider, of the things that we worry about:
40% — are things that will never happen
30% — are things about the past that can’t be changed
12% — are things about criticism by others, mostly untrue
10% — are about health, which gets worse with stress
8% — are about real problems that will be faced
There are many places in the Bible where we’re told not to worry but to trust God. So with this directive, what are some things that you’ve found helpful in learning not to worry? I understand that we’re all growing & not so many of us have achieved “worry-free” living – but if you could share some of your ideas, they could probably help others who read this blog – just leave a comment above. Thanks!!
plates, plates & more plates
Published March 3, 2009 living , Philippians , spiritual 1 CommentTags: busy, frustrations, God, Philippians, plate spinning, prayer, trust
ever feel like you should be in a circus act for plate spinning?
Everyone has busy lives – sometimes less, sometimes more. Today, is a plate spinning day for me, so i think its even more essential than normal to consider what Paul says in Phil 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
For every concern, frustration, request we pass along to God, and He tells us to do this, please be sure to include a thanksgiving as well. Then allow God’s peace to guard your heart & your mind. Then spin away baby & trust God to help you spin & catch a plate if it falls. 
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