To Trust

I am learning more and more lately what it means to trust God. This is a struggle for me, as I'm quite the control freak. Not only do I need to know when, where, and how things will happen, I also would prefer to have a role in deciding these factors.

I realize the ridiculousness in such a mindset, and yet it's proving very hard to break away from. However, as God is in the business of making believers more like Him, He's given me quite a few opportunities for growth in the past year or two:

-Unemployment: After I was laid off, I could no longer count on a job. It really was God who provided for me financially during that time (through my savings, unemployment benefits, and my generous parents). When I worried over money, there was always a solution.

-Anxiety: If you've ever had a panic/anxiety attack, you know that your thought process quickly turns into an irrational spiral of what-ifs, I-shoulds, etc. Things feel surreal and icky, to say the least. To know that there are times when I can't rely on my thoughts has brought me closer to the Lord. I have learned that at all times, I can rely on His word, and His promises for me. They are far more steadfast than my flawed mind and body.

-Any change: From a new workout routine to a new career, God has challenged my adaptability in matters small and large. Will I be flexible, or will I break? When I lean on Him, turn to Him, and seek the counsel of other believers, I can stretch much more easily.

For me, I've also noticed that trusting God becomes easier when I recall the countless times He's "come through" for those in the Bible, and for me in my own life. He is so faithful. It's part of His divine character!

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock Eternal. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

Wow. I want to shoot for that.