Trust God In Every Circumstance?

Recently, I was tasked with offering a short challenge and/or encouragement to a ladies’ board to which I belong. Predictably, the hardest part was keeping it short, but that direction certainly helped me sharpen my focus. I’m not sure if anyone else can relate to this, but I usually have a really hard time deciding what to speak, teach, or write about when someone asks me to. Typically, I spend time looking for inspiration or trying to think up something “interesting.” Then, inevitably, God makes it unquestionably obvious and forces me to look at my own shortcomings.

This time, God did exactly what He always does. While reading, some verses popped out at me, but they are familiar to nearly every believer. So, I told myself to look at that passage more closely at a future date. While sitting in Sunday School the next day, my husband mentioned one of the verses I had pushed aside during a random rabbit trail he went down. Hmm. Twice in two days…

We had a small group fellowship lunch in the youth group room planned for directly after our morning service. During a game we played, I noticed two vinyl verses largely displayed on the wall that I had at my back while I had been eating. You already know what I’m about to say. These two verses were from the passage I had noticed the day prior and heard referenced just a couple of hours earlier. “O.K., Lord. I’ll look at that passage again.”

I am a simple woman with simple thoughts. This short challenge reflects that in a big way.

I’m going to put the text below for reference and share with you what God is working on in me right now. Spoiler: It’s taking a while to sink in…

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”

Psalm 37:1-7

Evildoers And Undesirable Circumstances Are Coming

I understand that in context this is about trusting God when faced with those who would do evil against you. Oh man, I really hope that none of us are going through that right now or about to walk through it. However, the fact is that something is coming for us. Difficult and mean people are inevitable, and if it’s not evildoers, it very well may simply be circumstances that distract us, bring anxiety and anger, and weaken our faith in God’s ability to care for us. Namely, we stop trusting Him.

Even Small Stones Can Trip Us Up

As Christian women, we know better than to stop trusting God when something doesn’t go the way we planned or, at least, prefer. Ladies, we really can trust the Lord in everything! Yet, I think that time and time again, faithful Christians find themselves in situations that make them question if He really is trustworthy.

This can happen in big ways, but embarrassingly, it can happen regarding objectively small details of our lives, as well. In preparing for a meeting I had last week, I found myself feeling impatient with God about pulling together a few nominees for our board elections. We only needed two or three women to accept a nomination, but one after another said “no.” I know that’s a relatively insignificant problem, but it revealed an ugly truth in my heart because I caught myself easily giving the Lord a raised eyebrow and asking, “Are you gonna jump in or what?” I thank God, though, that He has given me a reminder of His trustworthiness and love for me.

Trust Him Because The Bible Says So

In looking at the above passage in Psalm 37, I was reminded that those evildoers (or circumstances) won’t last forever. Also, if I’m going to obey God, I have to trust Him. Verse 3 literally tells us to trust Him and do what’s right. So, in my vernacular, keep on keeping on and know He’s with you.

Most notably for me is verse 4. If I delight in Him, He’ll give me the desires of my heart. But here’s the kicker: If I spend time with Him in prayer and in His Word, my desires will become His. My selfish wants should fall away, and my concern should become His perfect will rather than my comfort, preferences, or even happiness.

Verse 7 gives what I consider one of the most challenging commands in all of Scripture. Wait patiently. That’s not one of my natural talents, but surrendering our worry and anxiety over to God is an essential part of trusting Him.

Final Thought

I hope that I’m just the victim of too much coffee over these last forty-three years and have become too anxious, making me a control freak. Maybe it’s just a me thing and no one else struggles with trust. In case I’m not, though, I’d just challenge all of us to trust God as we navigate whatever and whomever comes our way, be it good or bad. As circumstances change and some people make life a little more difficult, we know from Hebrews 13:8 that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” So, yes, we can trust Him. So, let’s take a deep breath, wait patiently, and seek His will as we move forward.

Do you ever struggle to trust God? Why?

If you want to read a longer discussion about trusting the Lord, you can do that HERE.

Image courtesy of Miriam G via Unsplash.