This past week my son, Josiah and I had a conversation about trusting God. He was giving a devotional at the mission organization where he works. In the course of our discussion JJ made the observation that two things often inhibit our trust of God; control and lack of clarity. I thought that was pretty profound and true!

Think about it. We like control. We feel safer when we are controlling our own world. When our lives spin out of control or we face chaotic circumstances that are beyond our ability to control the first question that comes to mind is, “Can I really trust God?”

Similarly, we prefer clarity. We want to know for sure where God is leading. When life feels murky and we are unsure of which path to take – we again question, “Can I trust God to guide me?” After all, He doesn’t seem to be making things clear!

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” I called those two verses my life verses when I was twelve years old. In my naivety I thought those verses meant if I trusted God – my life would never feel out of control and God would always make His plans for my life clear. The problem is, it is easy to trust God when you understand His ways and when life feels under control. It is also easy to trust God when He directs your path clearly. In my experience with God – He wants me to continually surrender control and rarely does He make the path perfectly clear. His desire is for me to live a life of faith – trusting a God I can’t see. I think we forget this. We value logic and reasoning so much that we like to have everything about God neatly packaged. God will never allow us to package Him in neat and tidy theology. He is so far beyond our understanding that we will never figure Him out completely. Instead, He calls us to live a life of faith. He invites us to choose belief; That He is good, loving and faithful even when our circumstances try to tell us other wise.

How’s your faith today? Need a little trust booster? Focus on these passages of scripture:

Romans 4:18-22

Romans 11:33-36

I also recommend this book for further reading: Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning