Total Trust

Happy Friday Restored Orchard Family!

My wife loves plants. It is almost as if there is always room for one more in the house if she sees one that she likes. The interesting thing about plants is that you can do everything right for them but if they aren’t in the right environment, their growth will still be stunted. This is because although we see what’s above the soil, what happens below is what determines the strength of the plant overall. Another example is the trees. We look at them and think that because they are big and tall they are good, healthy trees but an arborist or botanist can look at a seemingly healthy tree and see where there is a disease or even that it has died. The question I would pose is how are your spiritual roots doing? We all look good on the outside and we have smiles and seem happy but we all have challenges that aren’t always visible but can weigh very heavy on us. Being rooted in God’s word helps us to navigate through what is weighing us down spiritually. 

 Over the past couple of months, I have really had to have complete faith in God in a lot of areas.  It is easy to say that you have great faith until it is time to actually enact it. These situations were such that I had to know that only God could have made it happen. This made me think, what does trust in God truly look like? I think that it is easy to regurgitate scriptures to people or even to ourselves but having complete trust requires a relationship. When you are faced with a challenge do you immediately shut down or do you lean into your heavenly father? The same way that we would trust our family more than a complete stranger is how our trust in God is built.  The more time that we spend in God’s presence, the better we know him. Jeremiah 17 verses 7 and 8 says: 

“But blessed are those that trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

The same way that I know that I can count on those closest to me, is the same way that I trust in God in any situation. Even when things don’t look the best in the natural world, I shouldn’t worry because my confidence is in the one who can do anything that I need. Not only that, just like the heat that should have wilted the leaves of the tree in our scripture was unsuccessful, the things that are attacking you in life will not succeed because of your connection to the protector. As your connection with Him grows, so will your ability to completely trust Him for whatever arises in your life.  Starting today, I  want to challenge you to take a different view of whatever situation is occurring in your life. I know it is often easier said than done but try to remember whose hands your situation is really in. Give your worries and challenges to Him and put your full trust in the fact that He will take care of you.