Do I Really Trust?

My journey of learning to trust God has developed over many years — sometimes with giant leaps, but mostly with baby steps. The beginning of trust came when I reached out with confidence and humbleness to know God personally and intimately.

This did not mean doing things for Him to get His approval. It meant reading His love letter to me, the Bible, and discovering what He wanted me to know about Him. I loved Him as I had been taught, until I realized that even though I wasn’t perfect, He loved me perfectly. Then I began to fall in love with Him.

I learned that I could trust Him with my fears; He would never leave me, so I had nothing to fear. I learned to trust Him with my failures.

I would begin each day intending to please Him with every word and action, but at the end of the day I would be overcome with failure and shame. And my Father would say, “I love you.”

Never that I should have tried harder or done better, but just that He loved me. I began to understand the freedom to live and respond and grow in an environment of perfect love.

I learned to pass my troubles on to Him; He promised that He would bring good even from difficult situations. I learned to trust Him when life brought me pain, struggles, and heartache. If I let go of my right to be angry and bitter, He would bring good even out of my pain.

I live in an imperfect body that is prone to sin. I won’t be free from life’s struggles until I have a new body that matches the new spirit God put inside me.

But I do believe that God is completely trustworthy and always good. And no matter what my circumstances, I can trust Him, and with His help, I will!

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. —Jeremiah 17:7

Prayer: We will praise You, O God. We will trust You and not be afraid. You are our strength and our song, and You have become our salvation. May our lives reflect the perfect peace and joy that come from knowing we are loved by You! In Jesus’ name, amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary Lou Elliott works as an Executive Assistant at the Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Read all the One in Spirit devotionals.