Trust In The Lord

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

It’s easy to get ourselves worked up when difficulties and problems arise. Our minds can play out scenarios like a TV show. We go through one scenario, then another, and another, playing out different outcomes. By the time we are done, we’ve made the situation worse than what it is, adding more stress than necessary and we end up opening the door to added emotions we don’t need such as fear, anger, jealousy, rejection, etc. We also end up making the problem bigger than God instead of allowing God to be bigger than the problem. Soon, these thoughts take precedence in our minds and we find ourselves thinking more about the thoughts/situation than of God. This is how the enemy steals the glory from God. This is idolatry because the thoughts we continuously dwell on become our idol.

When we trust in the Lord and turn the situation over into His hands, we make it harder for the enemy to use the thoughts/situation against us in the battle within in our mind. It doesn’t mean we will never worry,  it just means he won’t succeed in keeping us bound in thoughts if we continuously turn the situation over to the Lord each time it arises in our minds. We also must grab our sword, the bible, and battle the negative, painful thoughts with scripture.

We must condition ourselves to turn our concerns and worries over to the Lord once we have done all we can do with the situation. Prayer and reading the bible is only part of the  recovery and healing process. We must also execute the Word of God against the fiery darts of the enemy and apply the Word of God as a salve to your wounds. If you purchase an appliance for your home and read the directions on how to use it, will it work after reading the directions? No. You have to apply what you’ve read in order for it to work.

So how do we turn something over to the Lord and leave it there? First, ask yourself this question, “why can’t I turn this over to the Lord?” You may think you don’t know the answer, but when you really think about the question, the answer will come. If I had to say to you “take your situation to the Lord in prayer and don’t worry about it.” What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Fear? Anxiety? Doubt? Frustration? Anger? Fear and doubt are two very strong tactics to get someone not to trust the very one who can help them and this is what the enemy uses so we do not trust in God’s help. If an enemy can put fear and doubt in a person’s mind that there is no chance for freedom, no chance to receive help and no chance to recover, that enemy can break that person’s spirit and keep them bound. The one who can rule your emotions, will rule you.

When you are faced with fear and doubt, you must raise your shield of faith and remember who your God is:

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16)

12…I alone am God, the First and the Last. 13 It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.” (Isaiah 48:12-13)

7My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. 8 O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:7-8)

Then you must remind yourself of His promises:

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2)

When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He set you free, yet many still walk around with the mind of a prisoner of war (POW). When you became saved, Jesus opened the door to your jail cell and it’s remained opened ever since. Put on your Armor of God, pick up your shield and sword, and step forward in freedom. Jesus is with you.