It is very easy to try to figure things out on our own and fail to continue trusting God in difficult times. Scripture tells us in Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
I gave my heart to the Lord at a young age. I was sold out to Jesus. I faithfully read the bible, prayed, and did my best to live in a manner that pleased Him. I trusted the Lord with all my heart. To be completely honest none of those things were difficult for me. I was young, tender, and full of zeal. I was free from bitterness and other complicated things that make it more difficult to be sold out as an adult. I really never gave much thought to trusting God. Being a teenager and not having faced any big challenges in my life I didn’t have the worries I carry now as an adult. In my mind I believed I fully trusted God. I’m in my 50’s now and it feels like I only recently realized that I don’t trust the Lord the way he says I can. Trusting God has proven to be the most difficult part of my walk with Him. Trusting God in difficult times has proven more of a challenge than I would like to admit.
I want to believe I’m trusting God in difficult times.
Just as you do, I want to trust God. I want to believe that I am trusting the Lord with all my heart and in all things. I want to believe I am trusting God in difficult times. God’s word is filled with passages that teach us to trust in Him, there are many stories of men and women in the bible who trusted God and sometimes those that didn’t trust in Him.
King Asa started out trusting God in difficult times
There is an account in the bible of a young King who also wanted to trust God. King Asa began trusting the Lord with all his heart. We can read this account in II Chronicles chapters 14-16. King Asa, just as I was when I was a young teenager, started out sold out to God. As a young ruler he commanded everyone in Judah to serve the Lord. When the Ethiopians came against him with a host of a 1000 1000 King Asa cried to the Lord. Paraphrasing he told the Lord whether they be many or few it is nothing for God. King Asa trusted God to take care of the situation, big or small.
Something important to look at in this account is that King Asa had an army of about 680,000 mighty men of valor, but his army pales in comparison to the Ethiopians one million men and 300 chariots. King Asa knew that if God did not fight this battle for him it was over for Judah. Why is this important to consider? It seems we are more willing to trust God when we know without doubt that only God can accomplish the task. More often than not if we can provide it for ourselves we do not cry out to God, we just do it of our own ability. Now this is a prickly topic to say the least. I can hear the old timers shouting “God helps those who help themselves!” I can understand this point of view. For the sake of an example let’s look closer at King Asa and where he failed to trust God as well as what the Lord had to say to him.
After the Lord brought King Asa victory over the Ethiopians and sent word to him to take courage his work would be rewarded King Asa and his people entered into a covenant to serve the Lord God of Israel or be put to death! For 20 wonderful years there was peace and prosperity in the Land. It was a glorious time indeed.
In our life what happened to King Asa is like going from barely skimming by wondering how you are going to pay all the bills to being gainfully employed with a new house, new car, and money to spare. No need to worry about how the bills will be paid or even the kids’ college tuition. Ahh yes, life is good for many years.
King Asa failed to continue trust God with all his heart
Reading on in the account of King Asa, after 20 years of peace and prosperity King Baasha of Israel continuing an ongoing conflict with Judah decided to build walls to keep anyone from going or coming to Judah. When King Asa heard about it he felt confident he could handle this on his own. So using his wealth and resources he paid King of Syria Benhadad to break his alliance with King Baasha to discourage him so he would stop the building and depart from his attack on Judah. King Asa even used the silver and gold treasures from the house of God to pay King Benhadad.
King Asa did not cry out to the Lord to fight for him or deliver Judah, instead he took care of it by his own means. King Asa had stopped trusting God in all things. This is the same King Asa who at a young age commanded everyone to serve the Lord, now handling things on his own and never calling on the God who delivered him and blessed him in his beginning reign.
When we worry we do not trust God with all our heart
In Luke chapter 12 verses 22-31 God tells us not to worry about anything, not even what we are going to eat or wear. In place of worry we should seek the Kingdom of Heaven, and the things we need will be given to us. While in words this sounds so easy and it is most certainly good, it is difficult to do.
Many times when I think I am trusting God I find out I’m really trusting in my employment, or my own ability. It is easy to say I trust God to provide the money needed to pay my bills when I am gainfully employed, it is more difficult to say I trust God to provide the money I need to pay my bills when there is no paycheck guaranteed. It is trusting God in the difficult times that will reveal to us if we are really trusting God.
It is so easy to fret about what tomorrow may hold. When we worry we do not trust the lord with all our heart. Daily I remind myself that God holds my future in his hands. He told me to take no thought for tomorrow. This doesn’t mean not to make plans for tomorrow. The word thought in this scripture means worry.
I have no promise that tomorrow will be perfect and free from disappointment or even worse disaster, I do have a promise that God will provide for my needs and he will never leave me.
God wants us to keep trusting Him
God wants us to trust him. In II Chronicles 16 the prophet told King Asa “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect (this word perfect means to be at peace in God) toward him”
God is looking for people who trust him so he can show his power through them.
God can’t show his power is we don’t give him the opportunity by trusting him. God wants us to call on him and lean on him even for the little things as well as the big things. It is trusting God in difficult times that gives God the opportunity to show Himself mighty.
If we read on about King Asa we see that he died with a disease in his feet. We are not given any details about what kind of disease but it is very possible that is was not a serious life threatening disease, never the less King Asa put his trust in the doctors and not God. He died trusting in the doctors instead of putting his Trust in God.
Trust God for the big things and for the little things
I want to encourage each of you reading this to put your trust in God for the big things, for the little things, for the things you think you can handle on your own, for the things you know you can’t handle on your own. Put your Trust in God. Trust the Lord with all your heart. God wants to show you his power, he wants to show others his power though you!
Resources:
Free Online Bible Blue Letter Bible