Trusting God 24/7 – The Lord Hears and Delivers

With All Thine Heart

by Julie Paulk

With ALL thine heart Prov 3:5

Today we are pondering the well known verse: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” ~ Prov 3:5

The leading question is what does our own understanding tell us? Our own understanding usually tells us less than lovely things such as “The economy is down and we can’t pay all the bills right now” or “I don’t feel well, maybe the healing is never going to come.”

We turn to our own understanding for everything in our lives, and more often than not, the result is less than beautiful.

There are thousands of words of wisdom in the Bible. We can read them day in and day out and still not know how to fully put them to use.

One such example is today’s though “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” It is a well known verse yet do we really grasp how to accomplish it?

This isn’t something that can be fully answered at one sitting, but it can be explored day by day with the hope of becoming more fully and naturally reliant and trusting in the Lord.

The four little words “with all thine heart” are far from being small words. “All” is bigger than anyone can actually grasp. If we are trusting the Lord with even a fraction of our heart, incredible things will be happening. Imagine learning to eventually trust with ALL – every ounce of your being! That would leave no room at all for fear to sneak in.

Today, lets make a conscious effort to see where we are actually putting our trust. What or who have we been relying on?

Each time we realize there is someone or something else we are putting our faith in, that’s the perfect time for an “AHA!” moment and switch our faith away from its current source and toward the “One.”

I would love to hear about your “AHA” moments this week of discovering things you have been trusting other than God and what happened once you turned your trust to him and away from your own understanding.

We can’t stop trusting other things until we realize all the other things we have actually been trusting and relying on. What an exciting journey to learn to Trust 24/7!

 

Trusting God 24/7

I am starting a new series on this blog. After years of going through a difficult situation, I have come to understand the importance of Trusting God 24/7.

Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”

Imagine a life in which the answer was always clear. Imagine knowing that no matter the situation, you only had to put your trust in one thing ~ the Lord.

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him ~ Prov 30:5

Sometimes it seems like we have to trust other people to do the right thing, such as our children, the courts or any number of other people. When we have to rely on people, there can be many variables.

Perhaps someone didn’t follow through with a promise and now you are stuck without something you desperately needed. Maybe you were planning on a job coming through and the client backed out at the last minute, leaving you with bills you can’t pay.

With God, however, there aren’t variables. There is just Truth. God’s word is spread throughout the Bible. His promises are multitudinous. It is simply our job to avail ourselves of the promises He so freely gave us and turn our fears around by learning to trust Him 24/7.

Today’s lessons comes from Prov 30:5 “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”  He is shielding us WHEN we put our trust in him. Let go of the need to trust people, legal systems, local government, family or anything else. When you put your full trust in God, he promises to be a shield unto you.

I’m quite sure you will find yourself feeling less vulnerable and more secure. Enjoy your newly found confidence and trust. 🙂

I will be on this journey with you. Share your experiences of triumph so others may grow and learn from you. When did you last find peace from trusting God instead of everything else?

Get off the Cross

This flower represented getting off the cross.

This morning I attended a church service at a church I had not been to before.

At the front of the church was a large cross covered with flowers. Toward the end of the service, the pastor invited everyone to come take a flower off the cross to represent our commitment to getting off the cross.

Christianity is not about hate or hurting others or holding on for dear life. It’s about trusting, forgiving, letting go and letting God.

As I took a flower off the cross and sat back down with my little flower, I felt a weight lifted off me. My heart was overflowing with trust, with forgiveness of myself, with inner peace and love.

The pastor asked us to daily recommit ourselves to getting off the cross, to forgiving, to trusting God to lift us up higher. We are to be transformed from the inside out.

What happens when we feel we are on the cross, being beaten and torn?  What happens when we feel people are simply not accepting us and never will?

No one has a perfect past. No one is without sin. But, oh, what a life we live when we repent and transform our lives to lead the life God has chosen for us.  Does it matter how others perceive us? What if they hold on to one flaw and never forget it and refuse to see the real you?

Jesus taught love and forgiveness. No matter what others thought about him, he continued with love. He didn’t try to conform to their way of thinking or do things the way people thought he should do them. Jesus knew who he was. He wasn’t boastful about it. He didn’t show off. He let his actions speak for himself. Many people were scared by it. Others saw the love of God and transformed their own lives and followed in his footsteps.

On this Easter Day, what will you let go of? When you get off the cross, what will you be leaving behind and moving on from? Demand to see yourself as the beautiful, beloved child of God and be willing to trust in Him 100%.

Don’t hold on to fear and watch others pass by with freedom. Let go of what is keeping you back. Leave it behind because it is based in fear. We either trust God or we don’t. This Easter, I am choosing God. I am getting off the cross of persecution and condemnation. I am transforming my thoughts to be higher than they have ever been.

Join with me. Let go. Forgive. Move forward.

I love this poem by Edward Markham:

He drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took him in.

Offended?

Who hasn’t been in a situation where they were offended?  Sometimes individuals can do things that are beyond hurtful.  As humans, we react.  But as God’s children, perhaps there is another alternative.

I absolutely love what Mary Baker Eddy says in her article entitled “Taking Offense”

“Nothing short of our own errors should offend us.  He who can willfully attempt to injure another, is an object of pity rather than of resentment; while it is a question in my mind, whether there is enough of a flatterer, a fool, or a liar, to offend a whole-souled woman”

How does this help us in a practical way?

Lets say someone purposely does something they know will upset you or hurt you.  Often we think “Why do they keep doing this?”  “How could someone be so evil to someone else?”

Mary Baker Eddy says in her same article “It is our pride that makes another’s criticism rankle, our self-will that makes another’s deed offensive, our egotism that feels hurt by another’s self-assertion.  Well may we feel wounded by our own faults; but we can hardly afford to be miserable for the faults of others.”

Think about it.   “We can’t AFFORD to be miserable for the faults of others.”  What does it cost us?  Our peace.  Our grace.  Our calmness.  Our patience.    Is it worth the cost?  Hardly.  When we seem to lose our peace or patience, others around us suffer as a result.  We can stop the cycle.  We can choose to not be offended.

“We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; that human life is the work, the play, the ceaseless action and reaction upon each other of these different atoms.  Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it; with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it, – determined not to be offended when no wrong is meant, nor even when it is, unless the offense be against God.” ~ Mary Baker Eddy “Taking Offense”

The next time you are faced with an option to be offended or respond with love… think of the cost.  Remember that we are followers of Christ and His teachings were thus “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28

Each unloving act against you is merely an opportunity to express grace, peace and forgiveness.  They are opportunities to be an example to those around you.  🙂