"Who do you trust, hubba hubba? Who do you trust?" Yes, this is a line from the first Michael Keaton Batman movie, asked by the Joker towards the end of the film. What was he really asking here? Joker was talking to the people of Gotham about whether they should trust him (the bad guy) or Batman (the good guy). It all comes down to who you trust.
Where am I going with all of this? Let me ask you some questions about putting your trust in others. Who would you trust more: Someone who said that they would help you pay your bills for the next month if you were having trouble, or someone who actually did help you pay them? Someone who told you they loved you or someone who actually showed you they loved you by their actions? Someone whose motives you know are selfish, or someone who has always shown you that his motives are pure, not only by what he said, but by what he did? Would you trust your spouse if they were coming home late from work every night for no good reason, or the friend who saw him leave a restaurant that night with another women on his arm? Would you trust your spouse if you found strange phone numbers in his possession, and when you called them a voice you don't recognize answers? Would you trust a parent who constantly beat you even if you did nothing wrong to warrant it? Would you trust…? I think you get the point.
Now what about when it comes to God. Do you trust Him? Do you know that you can trust God? Answering these questions may be hard, especially if you grew up in a home where trusting someone could mean being hurt. Could you trust your father? If you learned not to be able to trust your father, then you were set on the path of not being able to trust any man. In my case, being sexually abused by a man made it absolutely sure that I could not trust another man for the rest of my life. Somehow I knew that I needed God in my life, but I felt I couldn't trust Him either. As I say in my post "My Life In Christ", it wasn't until I broke down from all the weight of the abuse and of trying to live my life through it on my own strength that I knew I couldn't survive on my own. If God hadn't "found" me, I would have never have had Him. Suicide is not an option.
But how do we learn to trust God? By first accepting Jesus as the Lord of our lives; by giving Him all control of every aspect of our lives. Until we accept Jesus as our Savior we will not be able to see God as the Father of our lives, we will not be able to see God for who He really is. And who is God to us? He is the only One who will ever truly love you in this universe because His love knows no boundaries, no limits. His forgiveness is immediate and forever. His power in your life will never be exhausted and will never diminish; His power will always be on full throughout the rest of your days. Only God will ever tell you the complete truth about who you really are to Him.
Which brings us to our first Scripture?
I must lean on God’s understanding, not on my own, or man’s wisdom
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, (6)in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.(New International Version)
It's not just about God changing your life it's also about accepting what God is telling you about your life for good or bad. God can tell us anything He wants, but if we don't accept what He says as truth then we won't believe it. If you've been told all of your life that you are nothing, after a while you begin to believe it. God has to break through that mistaken belief to show you what He believes you are. It may take a while, but that depends on whether you will believe the God of the universe, or some person on this earth who was once told they were nothing too.
It's not about how we or others see or think of us; it's how God sees us. Don't forget: humans have a sin nature which automatically makes everything we see or think distorted in some way or another. That includes how we see ourselves. Never trust another person when it comes to who you are and what you are. Trust God alone. He made you. Who would be the better choice to explain the meaning of a work of art – the artist who put everything he had into every brushstroke he used to create it, or an "expert" who is a hundred years removed from the time the painting was done and who learned about art from a book? My guess it you would want to talk to the creator. That's who God is: Our Creator. Who better than Him would know everything about us. Where do you think your dreams for the future, your talents, your gifts, (yes, even the kind of toothpaste you would use) come from? They come from the One who created you as an individual, and as an individual has a personality like no one else.
We must trust in Jesus by giving Him all control of every situation we become involved in, bad, or good. We do this by giving our problems to Him to handle for us, and by not worrying about the outcome, believing that Jesus will do what is best for us, according to His Purpose for our lives, since He has always known the outcome even before you were born.
Now let's turn to one of the biggest problems we face as human beings when it comes to anything that affects our lives, which is everything. Worrying is one of the biggest causes of illness in our world. We worry about everything from money, to jobs, to relationships, to clothing, to housing, the biggest needs we have or our lives. But we even worry about things life, how our hair looks, how heavy we are, will our team win the playoffs. But mostly, if you took a good look inside yourself, you would see that you worry about the smallest things like why can't I have a car like he does; why can't I have a husband like she does, why can't I seem to get along with my kids? I could go on forever.
But what does Jesus have to say about worrying? A lot. But I have chosen the two most direct Scriptures that Jesus Himself said during the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was speaking to a multitude of people of His day, but the Sermon on the Mount still speaks to us loud and clear today.
Worrying cannot lengthen my life, but can shorten it by the stress worry brings
First, Jesus told them in Matthew 6:27: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (New International Version)
I love how straightforward Jesus says things. How much more of a true statement could this be? Worrying can not give you more life, but it sure can take it away. If we were honest with ourselves, we would realize that we worry more than we think we do. But what is worry? Worry is anything you focus on that you have no control over. Worry is anything that we think about when we feel we can't do anything about the outcome. Worrying is when we think that other people are better than we are. Worrying about a situation doesn't solve the situation. It only perpetuates it for a longer period of time, and makes us more miserable.
So, since worrying isn't good for us, and can do nothing to make our lives better, then what do we do about it?
Worrying brings me more trouble than the situation itself
Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (New International Version)
First, we give the worry up to Jesus. 1 Peter 5:7 says: "7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. (New Living Translation) God loves you so much that he wants all of your problems and will happily take them upon Himself so you can live a joyful life. All we need to do is to take care of what we personally can take care of for this day and this day only. If there is something that we cannot do in our own power and strength then we give it to Jesus. Yes there are some things we can and have to take care of on our own during our day. We are still responsible for working, eating, and worshipping God. But God will take care of everything else. Even if it seems to be taking a long time don't give up waiting. God works on His own timetable, but will answer you when and only when you need the answer.
I'm sure that we all could do with a lot less stress on our lives. But let's not add stress where we don't need to. Please trust Jesus and you will find the joy in your life increase. May His peace be with you as you go through your day leaning on Him and not yourself.
Have a good one.
Comments