In this current climate of ever scrolling ‘BREAKING NEWS’, I have some news that I pray doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. In fact, I’m going to put it in a paragraph all its own so you can take a moment and breathe it in:
God can be trusted.
This is better than ‘Breaking News’. It’s the Good News. It’s the best news ever but only if we choose to believe it. Throughout all of life’s uncertainties (and there are many) there is one constant: God's trustworthiness.
Proverbs 3:5-6 is a familiar, often quoted scripture. But again, I’ve had to challenge myself on how much I really believe it.
Of course, I believe in trusting God.
Of course, I believe in acknowledging Him.
Those are actually the easy parts. Even not “leaning to my understanding” can be pulled off, specifically when life hits so hard that I have no particular understanding on which to lean. But can I trust that when I’ve done those things, He is directing my path? Honestly, that’s where I have felt my knees buckle more times than I’d like to admit. Mainly because that path can feel unfamiliar and uncertain.
You see, I'm the type of person who likes to know the plan, the destination, and the route. I don’t ‘joy ride’. I always want to know ‘where are we going and how are we getting there?’ But walking with God and trusting Him has taught me He’s not obligated to give me all the details. So, without the details, can I trust that He is directing my path? This path that has twists, turns, highs, lows, light, and dark moments? Do I still believe His hand is guiding and His presence is with me?
I'll never forget a pivotal moment in my career when I faced uncertainty. I was working for a network, and I knew I was about to get, what my friend Brant Hansen calls, "the ole’ boot”. I went to a friend’s house to consume copious amounts of snacks and cry incessantly. This friend fed me all the snacks I needed, because that’s what good friends do.
Finally, after my 373rd complaint, she nonchalantly said an amazingly profound thing: “Yeah, but you don’t have the right not to trust Him.” And by ‘Him’ she meant God and she was absolutely correct. If I’m honest, I was annoyed when she said it. But the words sat heavily in my heart the rest of the evening. God had been so faithful to me up to that point. What reason had He given me to doubt Him?
Trusting God isn't just about believing; it's about embracing His path for us. Take the story of David and Goliath, for instance. We usually focus on the victory, but think about the journey David had to take to get there. A father and family that thought very little of him, still having to tend smelly sheep after a prophet told him he’d be king, having the current king make him play music to help assuage his literal demons. This was not an easy path David was on.
But he saw a God who had been faithful to him time and time again, from defeating lions and bears to his daily faithfulness to him as a shepherd, to cutting off the head of a giant.
Like David, I’m sure you can look back and see God’s faithfulness to you. He’s been faithful in the mundane things of life, hasn’t He? Every day He’s shown up and been faithful and his mercies renew every morning.
Don’t believe me?
Take 20 minutes. Sit down, grab a pen and paper, and think about your history with God. You can go back through the years or you can just track the last couple of months. Write down even the smallest accounts of His goodness… those moments when you've seen His hand at work in your life.
I guarantee in no time you’ll need more paper! And this simple exercise will bolster your faith and remind you that you're never alone on this journey. It’ll also give you the faith and the evidence to believe the Good News I gave you when we started:
God can be trusted.
…even when the path ahead seems uncertain, trust that He's leading you exactly where you need to be.
Find more from Sherri Lynn at iamsherrilynn.com
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