Learning to Rest in Trials
No one likes to go through trials but one reason I don’t care for them is that they reveal things in my heart that I would rather not see. I like thinking of myself as a strong woman of faith who praises God in every circumstance. Yet, when the storm comes, wham! That all blows away.
I don’t know why it is hard to trust God. He has never been anything but good to me and yet I tend to think I know better than Him. If He would just _________, then I could serve Him better. And yet God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect through your weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). And He’s always right!
I am currently going through a trial which I know is, in part, to bring me into a greater place of trust and surrender, but I confess this has been hard for me. I console myself that this trial is light and momentary and is a sign that God will complete the work He has begun in me, but it is taking me a while to rest in that.
Part of the problem is that I have plans. I have ideas of how life should work out, and when my plan doesn’t turn out, I don’t handle it well. I can quote Proverbs 16:9 (“A man’s heart plans his way; but the Lord directs his steps”), but knowing it and really embracing it can be two different things.
I’ve stated it before but it’s been a while so I’ll say it again. I don’t write because I have all the answers. I write because there are things that God is teaching me, and I expect I’m not the only one who needs to learn these lessons. Maybe not every post will speak to you but, if you read my writings long enough, I’m sure some will.
Life is not all mountaintops. And it’s really not all valleys. The fact is you will have some of both. The key is, in whatever state you find yourself, to press on, keeping your eyes on the Light, not looking to the right or the left.
Things I am reminding myself and, therefore, reminding you:
1) Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This is not always easy, and I don’t believe this means that we need to thank God for the trial, but it does say we need to give thanks. There is always something to be thankful for, so find that.
2) God’s plans for you really are good. You don’t have to doubt. They may not be the plans you made, but your plans may not have been for your best. You need to trust Him.
3) This is the hardest point for me right now, but I’m learning that sometimes God does what He needs to do make us slow down and spend more time with Him. I don’t realize how much I am rushing through my prayer and Bible reading times until God rearranges my schedule to where I can’t do many other things. I’m learning that resting is more than just sleeping or not doing anything; it is making your mind and heart rest in accepting God’s will, even when it isn’t easy.
Lately, I’ve been singing “The Potter Knows the Clay” by the Perrys. You may be going through a difficult time but, one day, you’ll be able to sing:
Friend, I just came through that trial not too very long ago
And looking back I can see why and that my God was in control
I also think of the song by Jamie Owens Collins:
Don’t give up; don’t give in; Give it all to Him
For He cares so much more than you know
When it seems who you really want to be is someone you’ll never become
Just look how far you’ve come
Thank you Sony for writing what you and so many of us go through, but many are not able to express so thoroughly.
I quite often say “the Lord has kept me safe and provided for me all the 77 years of my life….why should I doubt
that He will for however much longer I will be on this earth?” But still the doubts come with trials…my doubt is because I am never certain, it seems, whether it is something God is giving the trial to strengthen me by bringing me through it, or if
it is something given as correction for sin that I am not seeing! And yet I’ve had those times when the Holy Spirit does convict me of something that does need changed in me, without leaving any doubts. And round and round we go, but we do know when it will stop! Thanks to God that He has given us His promise of that!!