LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 56:3, Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

 

David is being chased by Saul and has been captured by the Philistines in Gath. He gives us a wonderful example to follow when fear comes into our lives –he turns to his Father in heaven, placing all his trust in Him.

 

The world we live in is a mess! Evil is seen as good and good is seen as evil. What was once done in darkness is openly done and applauded by many. Our most trusted and sacred institutions are no longer believed to tell truth. The truth spoken is what people want it to be and places them in the best possible light. As has been written several times before, there is a new variant of covid always around the corner, if not that there is seemingly something worse coming. There is recession, the failure of the dollar, not enough food and toilet paper to think about. And, if one does not have gold and silver to fall back on, then what do you do? If you have read this blog for long, you know that the self-centered lifestyle in 2 Timothy 3 is certainly very prevalent today causing the breakdown of society and is the very root of the destructive thought and lifestyle in our world today. If that is not enough, each of has our own particular situation that causes us to be afraid.

 

Each of us must do what David did. He turned to his Father in heaven and placed his trust in Him. That is easy to write, easy to say. What does trusting God mean? Let me say first what it is not; it is not carelessness and indifference, just drifting with the flow. It does not mean shutting our eyes to what is happening around us. There is no such thing as “blind faith”. Trust looks at what is happening, what is being said, evaluates the need(s) and difficulties and then looks beyond them to see an all-sufficient God desiring to strengthen our faith to get us through all of it.

 

When we fear, we are not really trusting. When we trust, our fear gives way to an assurance that God is with us and we can trust Him to do what is best. To understand that God is with us does not mean things won’t startle us or will not happen to us. It means that in such times, we trust He knows and cares and that He is helping us. We cannot allow trials, temptation, the works of the devil, the economy, recession or any number of things to disrupt the peace we find in walking with Jesus or to trouble our hearts.

 

Believe me I wrestle at times with anxiety. I know when it is coming, and I am learning to start praising the Lord for all He has done and what He is doing. I am learning that trust takes away the anxiety. Too often I begin to worry about little things and that takes too much energy. As the Bible says, worrying or anxiety does not solve a single thing. Being a work in progress, I am finding that trust brings confidence that there is no reason to worry or be anxious – God is in control of even the little things I face. Trust tells me to take my eyes off what is causing the anxiety, to look to the One who cares for me and to keep looking (or praying) until the anxiety is gone and the peace that passes all understanding comes from Him.

 

Can I encourage those of you who are anxious about situations you face or what we see around us in the world to take some time to seek the One who cares for you and desires to give you peace. Pray that He gives you all you need to place your trust completely in Him. When you do, when you diligently seek Him, He will be found by you and will give you peace that He has all things (including what you face) in His hands. May He richly bless each of you today with His great love and His peace.