Embracing Trust by Joanna Weaver

Scriptures: Psalms 9:10, Psalms 40:4, Psalms 62:8

God’s Love Language

You and I aren’t a cosmic experiment meant to keep heaven occupied. We are God’s children, each uniquely loved and wanted, intricately designed for a special place in the Father’s heart. 

That’s why trust is so important to God our Father. In a very real sense, trust is God’s love language. As the psalmist says, God longs for us to “trust Him at all times,” to “pour out” our hearts before Him, as we would with a close friend, because He alone is our refuge (Psalm 62:8). 

To draw close to our Creator, who loves us so much, we must let go of our expectations and believe in His dreams for us. If we don’t, every area of our lives will feel a lack. 

·When we don’t trust God, we’re quick to worry and slow to pray. 

·When we don’t trust God, we struggle to forgive. 

·When we don’t trust God, we grumble and complain. 

·When we don’t trust God, we build walls of self-protection. 

·When we don’t trust God, we attempt to micromanage our world. 

·When we don’t trust God, we react poorly rather than respond wisely. 

·When we don’t trust God, we live as orphans rather than beloved children. 

·When we don’t trust God, we miss the joy and freedom of belonging to Him. 

As you read this devotional, I pray you’ll allow the Holy Spirit to expand your understanding of who God is: Your trustworthy Father. Your compassionate Savior. Your tender Comforter. Your faithful Friend. 

Though we can’t fully comprehend Him, God wants us to know Him through His Word and His Holy Spirit. As we allow Jesus to live within us, we become intimately acquainted with our Father: a God who’s working for our good and is worthy of our trust. 

When it comes to trusting God, why do you think many of us struggle—even as Christians? As you look at the bulleted list above, which one or two resonate the most when it comes to how a lack of trust in God might be showing up in your life today?

Scriptures: Isaiah 55:8-9, Acts 13:22

“Think Magnificently of God”

When Samuel was sent to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the next ruler of Israel, God confirmed that David—though the youngest of the sons—was “the one” (see 1 Samuel 16). 

What set David apart from older, more capable men? In Acts 13:22, God reveals the reason: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” 

Oh, how I want God to be able to say that of me! I want to be known as a woman who knows God so intimately that she obeys Him implicitly—a woman after God’s own heart. 

Having a heart like that requires we lay down our understanding and trust God to define everything that touches our lives—including our view of Him. Because until we come to know the Lord intimately and view life through the lens of who He is, we won’t have the proper perspective on what happens to us, nor will we fully comprehend the depth of His love. 

I love the advice given by the sixth-century bishop Paternus: 

Think magnificently of God. Magnify His providence: adore His power; frequent His service; and pray to Him frequently and incessantly. Bear Him always in your mind; teach your thoughts to reverence Him in every place, for there is no place where He is not … fear and worship, and love God; first, and last, think magnificently of God. 

Let God out of the box of your small thinking; our view of God determines our level of trust. If we remain ignorant of God’s character and purposes on earth, we’ll constantly mislabel His work and question His motives. We’ll live life looking through the wrong end of a telescope. God will appear tiny, and our problems will appear huge. 

When we “think magnificently” about God, the Holy Spirit flips the telescope, so we see God correctly. Our problems shrink to their proper proportions. For in the light of His love, we view life—and ourselves—through the right lens. 

Consider something you are worried about today. What does your fear or anxiety suggest about your view of God? How would a more “magnificent” view of God bring you peace?

Scriptures: Matthew 6:24, Luke 9:23-24, Luke 17:32-33

All In

If we’re going to be true followers of Jesus, we must be willing to be led. There can be only one leader in our relationship. Only one God. Only one King. This means we must relinquish the magic wand and hand over the remote control, along with our attempts to make God do things our way. 

Jesus made that clear each time someone expressed an interest in being His disciple. Rather than offering incentives or a slick presentation of follower benefits, Jesus seemed to go out of His way to discourage followers by highlighting the cost. 

“Whoever wants to be my disciple,” He said, “must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). 

Not the best lead, marketing experts would say. Nor the best metaphor, especially when crosses were used as instruments of torture by the Romans. Crucifixion was considered the very worst way to die and reserved for criminals. 

Rather than softening the image, Jesus went on to intensify it. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it” (v. 24). It isn’t enough to carry your cross, Jesus told eager would-be followers. You’ve got to trust God enough to climb up on that cross and choose to die—for it’s the only way to truly live. 

It’s a theme Jesus repeats throughout His ministry. It appears five times in the Gospels and another time in a discussion of end-time events in Luke 17:32–33, where Jesus warns, “Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.” 

There’s no way around it. As Christians, you and I are to surrender. A total commitment to our lives goes beyond a white flag weakly waved in God’s direction or a shifty-eyed assent that agrees to follow Jesus but reserves the right to turn back if the going gets tough. Jesus requires total abandonment— giving up and giving over our lives to His rule. 

The abundant life we need is found only in trusting God with all our hearts, going all in with Jesus so that He alone controls our lives. 

According to Matthew 6:24, why is it important to surrender our entire life to Jesus? When have you seen the fruit of surrendering something to God?

Scriptures: Isaiah 54:17, Ephesians 2:7, Romans 8:28

Total Surrender

When I surrendered my life to Christ as a teenager, I sensed the Lord saying, “I want all of you, Joanna. Unconditional surrender.”

With nothing held back, I committed my life to Jesus, and at that moment, everything changed. Instead of the nightmare plunge I anticipated and the unending fall I feared, I immediately sensed beneath me my heavenly Father’s “everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). Catching me, then holding me. Steadying me, then cradling me. In my teenage transaction with God, a decisive battle was settled, and the war for my soul was won. 

Oh, there have been skirmishes since then. Encounters with the enemy have made me tremble with fear, but none of these have affected the most important questions: 

• I am not my own. I’ve been bought with a price. 
• God can do whatever He wants with me. 
• I withhold nothing from the Lord. 

That last point is important, for until we fully surrender, we will never fully trust. In trying to manage the parts we’ve held back from God, we’ll miss the joy and freedom when we give all we are and all we have to the One who made us. 

It’s important to understand that being fully devoted to Jesus doesn’t guarantee that everything will go our way, but that realization doesn’t shake me the way it used to. I pray you’ll also find that firm foundation under your spiritual feet. For there is so much freedom on the other side of surrender: 

• Freedom from fear. I don’t have to fear tomorrow because God is working on my behalf. No matter what happens, He’ll take care of me (Matthew 6:25–27). 
• Freedom from regret. God can redeem my worst mistakes and turn my life into a display of His amazing grace (Ephesians 2:7). 
• Freedom from resentment. I can forgive others (and myself) because nothing and no one thwarts God’s purposes in my life (Isaiah 54:17). 

As I’ve relinquished control and placed my life completely in God’s hands, I’ve found that Romans 8:28 is true. Even the most painful trial is working for me, not against me. Because my heavenly Father “causes all things to work together for [my] good.” 

How could trusting God change your life in the areas of fear, regret, and resentment?

Scriptures: Psalms 62:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 1:5

Wholehearted

Over the years, God has used Proverbs 3:5–6 to recalibrate my soul: 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart 

And do not lean on your own understanding. 

In all your ways acknowledge Him, 

And He will make your paths straight. 

Each line of this Scripture contains important clues as to how we can know God, trust God, and become people after His own heart: 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” 

Half-hearted trust won’t cut it. We’ve got to bring everything to the table, including all we are. We can’t trust God with our whole being if we’re making backup plans in case He doesn’t come through. God is looking for wholehearted surrender and continued reliance on Him. Day by day. Minute by minute. David writes in Psalm 62:5: “I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him.” 

“And do not lean on your own understanding.” 

Lingering residue from the Tree of Knowledge makes it hard to let go of our need to understand. As fix-it queens by nature, we think we should be able to figure out life on our own, but our human intellect will always be limited and often faulty. However, when we invite God into the equation, He promises to make us wiser. As James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all.” 

“In all your ways, acknowledge Him.” 

So often, in the middle of trouble, I forget to consciously recognize that Jesus is with me, that nothing takes Him by surprise or is beyond His power to save. I’ve found that when I “acknowledge” He’s present with me in all my ways—not just some of them—I don’t default so easily to fear. 

“And He will make your paths straight.” 

Rather than giving in to fear when difficulties arise, I’m learning to declare my faith in Jesus out loud: “Lord, I trust You with all I am and face. I acknowledge that You are with me in this situation—I am not alone. Thank You for going before me and showing me the way to go.” 

Pray the prayer above out loud, filling in the details of your situation as you intentionally acknowledge that God is with you.

Scriptures: Joshua 1:5-6, Isaiah 40:31

Free-Flying with Jesus

During the last year of his life, the Dutch priest and theologian Henri Nouwen became fascinated with a trapeze act called the Flying Rodleighs. Henri was invited to practice sessions and spent a lot of time talking to the troupe’s leader. Nouwen describes one encounter like this: 

I was sitting with Rodleigh, the leader of the troupe, in his caravan, talking about flying. He said, “As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher. The public might think that I am the great star of the trapeze, but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He has to be there for me with split-second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump.” “How does it work?” I asked. “The secret,” Rodleigh said, “is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. When I fly to Joe, I have simply to stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me.” . . . 

“You do nothing!” I said, surprised. “Nothing,” Rodleigh repeated. “The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. . . . A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him.” 

You and I were made to go free-flying with Jesus! But we must surrender before He can take hold of us with His capable hands. 

When a frightened young Joshua took Moses’s place as leader of the Israelites, God gave him a promise: “I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:5–6). Interestingly, the Hebrew word for fail in this verse means “to become slack, to relax . . . to let drop,” while the word for strong can mean to “be firm, be caught fast, be secure.” 

As we let go of self-reliance and choose God-reliance instead, Jesus will not only catch us and hold us, but He will never let us go. 

What is one situation in your life in which you would like to go “free-flying” with Jesus? What would it look like today to trust that He will catch and hold you?

Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:13-14, Psalms 131

Relaxing Into God’s Love

When my youngest son was five years old, he had to have his tonsils and adenoids out due to respiratory problems. The doctor warned me that post-op might be a little rocky, but I wasn’t prepared for Josh’s reaction coming out of the anesthesia. 

“Mommy, mommy!” my normally even-keeled boy screamed as he woke up in the recovery room. Eyes wide open, he frantically clawed the air in an attempt to find me. 

“I’m right here, honey . . . ,” I tried to reassure him as I took him in my arms. “Mommy’s right here.” 

But he pushed away from me and tried to reach for something beyond. He continued to call my name, unaware I was standing before him. That I was waiting to comfort him if he’d only relax into my love. 

I wonder how many times we do that to God. “Where are you, Lord?” we cry. “Don’t you see my pain? Don’t you hear my fear?” 

I’m right here, my child, He whispers to our troubled hearts as He attempts to take us in His arms. I’ve been with you the whole time.

Perhaps you’re going through a challenging time. Perhaps, like Josh, you’re frantically searching for God. It’s been a long time since you felt the Father’s love. 

I have good news for you, my friend. Jesus is with you—right there in the middle of your circumstance. He loves you and wants to show Himself powerfully. He wants to open your eyes to His presence and help you shake off the anesthesia of doubt, proving Himself faithful to the promise He declared through the prophet Jeremiah: 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you (Jeremiah 29:13–14). 

Rather than groping and grasping, trying to live life on your own, reach out and receive the love that Jesus offers. As you relax into His love, you’ll find everything you need—strength for the day, hope for tomorrow, and the grace to trust Him more. 

No matter what comes your way. 

Lord, I am reaching for You. I want to seek You with all my heart. I want to trust You completely. Help me to lean back into Your love and grace and know Your presence is with me. Amen.