“You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.”
Isaiah 26:3 HCSB
Every time I feel like I’m losing it, I ask myself, “where has your focus been?”
Focusing on God doesn’t make problems disappear, but it does make those problems lose their power over me. Focusing on God reminds me He’s in control and orchestrating ALL THINGS to work for good.
God can be trusted.
…but do you trust Him?
Even when it doesn’t look good or feel good, do you trust that God is good?
Do you trust His character in the midst of chaos?
Do you trust His thoughts are above your thoughts and His ways are above your ways?
Do you trust His method and timing over your own?
Do you trust His Word even when things around you don’t look good?
Do you trust Him to make all things work together for you?
Do you trust Him to make all things beautiful?
Because when we don’t trust Him, we get in the way. And when we get in the way, we bring on unnecessary stress and turmoil.
“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].”
Isaiah 26:3 AMP
Perfect - having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.
Constant - occurring continuously over a period of time
committed - wholehearted dedicated
inclination - a person’s natural tendency or urge to act or feel in a particular way
character - the distinctive nature of something or someone
Where does your trust lie? In yourself and your abilities, in your finances, in your friends, in your family or in God? A clear sign of where our trust lies is where we run for refuge at the first sight or trouble.
Do we call on friends before we call on God?
My friend, Daniel Moody, recently - and soberingly, reminded me that we have the Holy Spirit for free, ready and available at any moment, yet we run to friends, social media, horoscopes, psychics, etc. for “insight” into what to do about our situation.
We seek out so many voices instead of running to the one and only Voice that really matters. It’s great to have sound wisdom in our corner but we don’t want to seek counsel from man before going to God. Any insight man gives should merely be confirmation to what we already sought God for. God shouldn’t be the last resort after seeking knowledge and opinions from everyone else.
What’s your first resort when things begin to “get out of control?”
We want to get to where our first response when trouble comes is to run to our Father. We want our inclination, our natural tendency to be to seek God’s face and God’s guidance. Why run in circles seeking answers when we can run to the Answer from the jump?
Maybe things get shaken up to remind us that we aren’t as omnipotent as we believe we are. We have to be reminded that we were never orchestrating things to begin with, our steps were already ordered. We can’t rely on our own knowledge or understanding, nor the knowledge and understanding of friends and family. We must keep our sight focused on the One Who makes the path straight, the One Who stands at the end and looks back, the One Who holds our hand and leads us beside the still waters.
“Be still, and know that I am God...”
Psalm 46:10 KJV
Our actions show that we sometimes forget we aren’t God and aren’t His equal. It’s not enough to intellectually know that God is Who He says He is, but we must reverence Who He us and ALLOW Him to be just that.
How many times have we given things to God and then turned around to put our hands back on it to assist Him?
I know I’m guilty of doing it countless times. But when we lay down our burdens, we’d do well to leave them there. Don’t let impatience, fear or distrust cause you to run back to it.
Cast your cares and leave them there. Christ can be trusted with your concerns. He cares for you and He cares about what concerns you.
Those moments when your flesh leads to you picking those cares up, put them back down.
You can lay your burdens at Christ’s feet again. If you pick it back up, you aren’t stuck with it. Go back and lay it down again…and again.
When depression tries to pick it up, lay it back down.
Every time anxiety tries to carry it, lay it back down.
We want to get to where we leave it once we lay it, but until we reach that place, lay it back down again.
Keep laying it at His feet. Eventually you’ll see that there’s no need to keep picking it up again.
Christ can be trusted with it.
“Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His Promise
And to know, ‘Thus saith the Lord!’”