It would be difficult to find even one person in this world that does not have some form of trust issues that they struggle to overcome. Whether it is a generally issue of trusting someone of a different gender, of the same gender, of a certain age, of a certain race, of a particular background; or if it is rather an issue with trusting people with your secrets, your fears, or your successes or failures. We all seem to have a deep-seated reluctance to give up any sort of control we feel we have in order to let someone else in. This can be due to the ways in which we were raised or whether or not we have been abused in some way or another that has let our soul seal the walls of our hearts off tightly to others. Still, when 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you," we must think that this is certainly and invitation for us as well to fall into God's care and love.How can we, then, do this when we struggle with giving our trust over to those we can see and touch?
I can admit that this has to be one of the areas of faith that has made me struggle the most. I am a self-starter, a self-relier, and a survivor of emotional abuse as well as sexual assault. I am proud to never ask another for anything I need, even when that means that I have to work myself to near-death to get done what must be done. I hate to feel as though I cannot do anything on my own because then, I have often told myself, I will be conceding that I am not as strong and as all-powerful as I believe myself to be. Though I can claim victory on many achievements I have had including college, grad school, and a number of important positions I have held; I understand that by forcing myself to make it on my own; I am not allowing any of the weight off of my own shoulders and that is simply not what God has ever intended for us.
Jesus told His followers, "Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30) His burden is light. We aren't supposed to carry it all upon ourselves because He will help us when the burden becomes too much. This was something I had to learn and, though I am not always perfect, I have gotten significantly better and turning to Him for all the many aspects of my life. Today, I want to share a few thing I have learned so that you, too, may begin to lean on God.
If it is meant for you, God will not deny you of it. How many times did I work until I was exhausted, weak, and impossibly lonely just to achieve what I wanted to achieve because I felt it would never happen if I did not do so? Furthermore, how much did I stress about the outcomes of things I had no control of? We all do this, right? But the Bible says that God will take care of our needs (Philippians 4:19) and if the Bible is to be believed, every word of it must be true, including this. If it was meant for you, it will come to be. You do what you can and God will do the rest; and if it doesn't turn out the way you want, then there was probably a great reason why it didn't.
God loves you. This should go without saying, but God really does love you and want what's best for you; in fact, GOD IS LOVE. He can't do anything but love you and want what's best for you. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is found in Isaiah 43:4 and it says, "Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you." God loves you so much He would trade others for you (and this means YOU the reader)! Why would He lead someone He loves that much astray?
God has planned good things for YOU! When writing to the Ephesians, Paul emphatically stated, "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10) God has big things for you to do that will bring glory to His name and others to Christ; He can't afford to jeopardize those things by letting you down... and He never would! Whether we know the end from the beginning or not, God certainly does and because of this, He knows where to guide us and what we will need to succeed.
It's natural to struggle to depend on someone or something, especially when the stakes are high and failure could mean literal life or death. God, however, should never be in doubt. He always has your back and will never let you slip and as you begin to lean into Him, you will find that there is nothing He cannot achieve.
"When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." - Psalm 94:19
