Trust

I'm unsure of how clear this blog will be, there's a million thoughts circulating in my head right now, too many to journal quickly enough to get them all down, so I type.

Trust - it's not an easy thing. We live in an imperfect world where most everything we encounter can fail. Maybe we haven't experienced every type of failure, and maybe most people in our lives are trustworthy.. but I don't think that makes it easier. As humans we do what we can to trick ourselves into believing that we are in control. We plan our lives and write things in pretty planners with the hopes that what is written will go our way. And though many things might, it is inevitable that a plan will fail. A parent will fail. A husband will fail. A friend will fail. A pastor will fail. Our car will fail. I will fail. We fail. 

And though this may sound cliche, God doesn't fail. He didn't write a second plan, the first one is as it is. He is sovereign. 

I've struggled recently with an anger that I couldn't put my finger on until the trust word came up. I'm not quite sure if I was angry with the situation itself or the fact that it just wasn't going the way I thought it should. It didn't match what I was writing in my "pretty planner" and that made me angry... But all the while through the anger I heard God ask me to trust him, He whispered quietly as I yelled or cried. He used my husband and close friends to remind me where my hope lies, to trust HIM. 

Life is rarely easy, but good things can be found in even the worst of situations. God asks us to trust him without borders or limits. He wants us to understand that while we can't see the whole picture HE can. And that in the midst of the struggle He holds us with the promise that He is in control. Many of our circumstances are not ideal, but hanging on a cross wasn't ideal for a man who did no wrong..BUT GOD made good from that. Surely He'll do the same for us. 

We have to look at our circumstances and think BUT GOD.... not BUT THE WORLD says... BUT MY mom says... BUT MY friend says.... BUT GOD SAYS..

We have to dive into scripture to speak it over our lives. We can't live on the secondhand faith of our parents or our pastor. Our faith must become our own. 

Believe me when I tell you that these words are meant for me but I'm sharing them with the hope that someone who like me, is struggling to trust in a situation will be further encouraged to look to Jesus for the hope that only he can provide. 

The scripture below is found in Isaiah 61 - it spoke to me this week when listening to Joyce Meyer speak about brokenness vs wholeness. 

Verse 7 says "Instead of shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance, and so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours."

You see we can't look back on what we think should have happened, or what we're missing out on because it didn't go the way we planned. We have to know that when we trade our ashes God gives us beauty. And that what we thought we should have had God doubles our portion and really what we get is greater than what was in OUR original plan. "Instead of ashes the oil of joy..." (vs 3) You can have joy when it doesn't go your way. You can have peace when walls seem to be crumbling around you because God is sovereign.. and He can take any negative thing we've been through and make it good. You must believe that regardless of circumstance, HE can make ALL things good. 

He will. It's who He is.

The Year of the Lord’s Favor 

1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lordis on me, 

because the Lordhas anointed me 

to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 

to proclaim freedom for the captives 

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor 

and the day of vengeance of our God, 

to comfort all who mourn, 

3and provide for those who grieve in Zion— 

to bestow on them a crown of beauty 

instead of ashes, 

the oil of joy 

instead of mourning, 

and a garment of praise 

instead of a spirit of despair. 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, 

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor. 

4They will rebuild the ancient ruins 

and restore the places long devastated; 

they will renew the ruined cities 

that have been devastated for generations. 

5Strangers will shepherd your flocks; 

foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 

6And you will be called priests of the Lord, 

you will be named ministers of our God. 

You will feed on the wealth of nations, 

and in their riches you will boast. 

7Instead of your shame 

you will receive a double portion, 

and instead of disgrace 

you will rejoice in your inheritance. 

And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, 

and everlasting joy will be yours. 

8“For I, the Lord, love justice; 

I hate robbery and wrongdoing. 

In my faithfulness I will reward my people 

and make an everlasting covenant with them. 

9Their descendants will be known among the nations 

and their offspring among the peoples. 

All who see them will acknowledge 

that they are a people the Lordhas blessed.” 

10I delight greatly in the Lord; 

my soul rejoices in my God. 

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation 

and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, 

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, 

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 

11For as the soil makes the sprout come up 

and a garden causes seeds to grow, 

so the Sovereign Lordwill make righteousness 

and praise spring up before all nations.