Let Go & Let God

I have discovered a theme in my walk with God. That theme is trust. Trust is the number one thing God and I talk about. It’s the number one thing I struggle with. To be perfectly honest, I truly struggle to trust God in all things. God has never failed me, so I’m not entirely sure why it’s still a struggle. I know God is for me, and I know His Word says He is faithful. I know God’s Word is full of promises, and that those promises are all ‘yes and amen’, but I still struggle when it comes time to trust God.

Now that we’re expecting a baby (yay!), I’ll be quitting work to be a full-time mommy! This has been my dream since I was a little girl, and I’m so looking forward to it finally becoming a reality. Since Daniel and I were engaged, we made it a priority to be financial able to live off of Daniel’s income. We could have afforded to buy a bigger house, new cars, always have the newest cell phones and gadgets. However, we wanted to have the freedom for me to quit working whenever I became pregnant. We live on a budget and try to spend money wisely. Recently, I’ve started to get concerned about affording a newer and bigger house one day. We’re not looking for a new house, but I started realizing that prices had been going up a lot just in the last year. So, I started thinking, “How will we ever be able to afford anything else in our budget without a HUGE increase in finances, or without two incomes?” Then my husband reminded me that I had that same concern before we bought our current house. Two years ago when we were looking for a place to buy, I was worried we would never find anything in our budget unless we lived in a really bad neighborhood where I didn’t feel safe. The reality is, we live in a nice home in a great neighborhood and our house has all the things we really wanted – 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, an attached garage, and in a nice neighborhood. It had everything we asked God for in our first home!

I am having to go back to the Word of God, and trust Him. I cannot think as this world thinks, or believe the lies of the enemy. I am being more intentional to take every thought captive and hold those arguments against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).

The Word says, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:25-34

Every time I’ve worried about something, and then made the decision to trust God instead, He has been faithful. Let go of worries and just let God do what He does best – Come through for us and remain faithful. Just trust what the Word of God says and see what happens.

 

Do You Know Him?

I grew up in a Christian home with born again, Spirit-filled parents. I always knew about God, but never knew who God was. Funny isn’t it? How we can know about God without ever really knowing Him. We can quote every verse in the Bible, we know all the right things to do and say, we even know all the worship songs. However, it all means nothing without the love of God according to 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.
If we don’t know the love of God, we do not know Him because He is love. Do we really know God, or only about Him?

For example: I can tell you about Brad Pitt, however, I do not know him personally. Well, that’s how we are with God. We may know things about Him, but do we know Him personally? Do we know His character? Do we know what He will do in certain circumstances? Or do we just have a general idea, more so, “guess” of who He is, and how He will handle things?

I know a lot of people, Christians even, who ask the question, “Where is God? If He loved me, wouldn’t He do something for me?” Well, maybe you just don’t know God personally and intimately yet. Maybe the reason it seems God is not helping you in the situation you are in, is simply because you do not know Him.

If we all truly knew who God is, we would not have fear, we would not be poor, sick, depressed, worried, or ashamed. We would not be wearing ourselves out trying to get God to move on our behalf either. If you really knew how much God loves you and values you, you would be able to trust God and have peace. Trusting God is simply being confident and secure in His love for you.

But how are you going to know how much He loves you? By getting to know Him personally. If money is tight and your car breaks down, are you worried about where the money will come from, or do you know that God will supply all your needs according to His riches (Philippians 4:19)? If you find out you have cancer, are you scared you will die, or do you know that God is the Lord who heals you (Exodus 15:26)? If you have a messy past, are you condemning yourself, or do you know that there is now no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1)? Do you wonder why God is letting horrible, natural disasters occur, or do you know that every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes from the Father of lights, who never changes or casts a shifting shadow (James 1:17)?

Sometimes we wonder why certain things happen, or why God would allow things to happen, when in reality, we just don’t have a knowledge of who God really is. We do not know that God is a god of love and forgiveness. We do not know that God has a plan for us that far surpasses anything that we could ever dream of. We do not know that God has given us His very best, and His everything. Or maybe we’re just not understanding what Christ did on the cross. We don’t understand that on the Cross, Jesus took our place and gave us His.

So how do we get to know God and gain understanding?
His Word (the Bible) is a great place to start. God’s Word is like a love letter to His children (us). When you read the Word, you are reading God’s very words to you! You are reading His hopes, dreams and plans for you. You are reading about who He is and what He has done for you, and what He wants to continue to do for you.
Praying is another great way to get to know God intimately. All prayer is is talking to God. Let God reveal Himself to you through His Word and prayer. Talk to Him, He is always listening and loves talking with you.
Look at Jesus. Jesus said that when we see Him (Jesus), we see God (John 14:9). Whatever Jesus did, is God’s will. Who Jesus is, God is.

So, do you really know God, or only know about Him?