In God We Trust?
If you look at the back of our paper currency it says, “In God We Trust.” Of course a lot of people who live in our country not only do not trust God but many don’t believe in God. I think it’s great that our money says, "In God we Trust" but the bigger question for those of us who claim to have a relationship with Jesus is do we really trust God? In Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV) it says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
This all sounds great until we try to apply it to our lives. Notice the verse uses a word many of us struggle with. The word is submit. The NLT translation says seek his will and the ESV translation says acknowledge him. In other words we are instructed to invite God into our decision making process. Here are some areas of our life God would like us to seek his council about.
If single, invite God into your dating life. Ask him to guide the relationship especially if things are getting serious.
Invite God into your finances. God wants us to be generous because He is generous. Include God in your budget.
Invite God into any career or job opportunities you are considering. Before you quit your job or consider changing jobs, ask God for some wisdom. James 1:5 (NIV) says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
My wife Karen and I just found out from our landlord that we have to move. You can bet we are seeking God about next steps.
If you are applying to different colleges, ask God to direct you to the best college for you.
If you are considering moving to a different city, state, or country you should definitely seek God’s will. He knows what the future holds and he wants the best for you.
I could go on but I think you get the big idea. Here’s an important question to consider as it relates to trusting God. If God was not a part of your life, would the decisions you’ve made over the years be any different? You might want to take a few minutes to think about that question. Trusting God means not always doing what makes us happy or doing what makes sense to us.
A lot of people, and I’m talking about people who claim to be Christians automatically assume being happy is always the best choice. I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but God’s highest desire for us is that we would be holy. The good news is that one of the beautiful by-products of holiness is, get ready for it, HAPPINESS! Submitting to God’s will doesn't mean our circumstances will change immediately but it means God will work things out.
Let me give you an example from my own life. The first church I pastored was a nightmare experience. In my second year of pastoring this church I was ready to bail out. I prayed about it and my prayer went something like this. “God I’m really miserable and I’m not happy so I think I’m going to resign and go to a church where I can be happy.” Sounds like a reasonable prayer doesn’t it?” I’ve never heard God’s audible voice but I’ve walked with God long enough to hear God in my prayers. God spoke to me loud and clear, "Do not resign, you need to stay.” That is not what I wanted to hear and it didn’t make any sense to me at the time. Fast forward two and a half years and God opened up a door of opportunity for me to plant a church in Pacific Beach.
My time at my first church proved to be incredibly valuable in the coming years. It wasn’t a happy time although there were unexpected blessings along the way. I chose to trust God when it didn’t make sense to me. In retrospect it makes perfect sense now. The Proverb said lean not on your own understanding. If you are in the habit of making all your decisions based on your own understanding I challenge you to invite God into your next big decision and see what happens. You might just discover like I did that God is for you and that God’s plans are better than yours.
Stay close to Jesus,
Steve