Tired of Trying: How to Hold on to God When You’re Frustrated, Fed Up, and Feeling ForgottenSample

Choosing Trust

I like to know the plan. Where are we going? When are we leaving? Who is going to be there, and how long are we staying? This is particularly important when I don’t know the people well or, heaven forbid, I have to figure out parking when I have never been to the location before! Amen?

Having a plan gives most of us a sense of control. We can know what to expect, and in some ways, it makes us feel safe.

Yet when it comes to our faith, we can make all the plans we want, but we find that there is no formula for our walk with God.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (ESV).

We love our own understanding, don’t we? And when life is heavy, hard, and full of hurt, we are desperate for control. We know God says He will “make straight [our] paths,” but what we really want is a roadmap or checklist that we can use to get ourselves out of our comfortable circumstances. Yet God asks us to trust Him, one moment at a time.

And while we will rarely get a play-by-play from God, we can make some choices to believe His Word:

- We can choose to believe God is with us as we walk through these deep waters. (Isaiah 43:2)

- We can choose to believe God will work this for our good. (Romans 8:28)

- We can choose to believe that God is good and that what He does is good. (Psalm 119:68)

This, my friends, is the choice to hold tight to our faith. When our circumstances make us feel out of control and insecure, we can choose to shift our focus to the One who never has and never will fail us.

Reflection Questions:
In what areas of your life have you felt out of control? What choices can you make, based on God’s Word, to focus on what is true?

Prayer:
Lord, please help me to trust You with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding. You promise that You will make straight my paths, and I pray You would begin to guide me through this season that I find myself in. Help me to choose what I know is true. In Jesus’ name, amen