Trusting God, Even When It Doesn't Make Sense
Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day! This message is about trusting in God. Our hope is to inspire you, to help build your trust in God. And if we're talking going to theme up with independence and 7/4, trusting in God is one of the most liberating things you can do!
Proverbs 3:5,6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." (This is one of those verses you just want to post up all over your place and scribble in your notebooks. :])
Ever hear about Noah? God tells him to build a giant boat for a flood that no one believes is coming, right? And he's working on this thing for over 100 years, even while everyone around him is laughing and making fun of him, because God told him to do it.
It's not uncommon for God to test us, asking us to do things that require a ton of trust. Like studying something and you don't really know why, or breaking up, staying together, volunteering without any reward, or being willing to be used by God. But it's not easy to follow God's will without any idea of what in the world he's doing.
That's why we need to "not depend on [our] own understanding." Noah didn't ask his friends how to make this boat, nor did he tell God he would figure it out on his own. That, or not building the boat at all, would've been following his own understanding. And, believe it or not, God has a much better and clearer idea of what's going on in the universe than we do, so maybe it does make sense to follow his directed path...
If you're still not convinced, 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become "fools" so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight...The Lord know that the thoughts of the wise are futile."
So if you think you're wise by this world's standards, you need to give that up. To be wise here is to have it all under control, to be in control, to have a plan. To be wise in God is to give it all up to him, to trust him, even when that doesn't make a lick of earthly sense.
Unless you trust, which will allow God to do impossible things in your life, then you won't be able to believe. Until you actually let him catch you and see all he can do, you won't get it.
So it's our job to seek his will in all we do. Instead of keeping a firm grip on all we got going on, we need to hand it all over to God daily. Every part of life, from your commute to your classroom to diaper changing to conference calls should be handed over to God.
And Jesus is the most incredible example of that trust. It's up to us to make a choice for either God's will or our own will every day, every hour. Jesus asked his Father to take him out of his dire situation, but even then Jesus said, "Yet not as I will, but as you will."
It's not easy to trust, and often we can't understand it, but God has good plans for us. And he will bless you abundantly.
Verses from this message:
Proverbs 3:5,6 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 Genesis 6:11-14 Matthew 26:39