I Trust You Lord
/
Floyd continues to have up and down days. I am so grateful that he was having a "good" day when our grandkids were here. We keep praying for peace, comfort, and grace for him.
As we move into a new year, I take comfort in the words from Psalm 73 that He is "always with me." I am so keenly aware that I can't make it alone - for one day, one minute, one second. I need Him. God assures us over and over in the Word that He is with us. People may let us down. Situations may not go the way we think, planned or hoped for. But God is always, always faithful.
There's a song called "He Won't Fail You." It affirms that God is always with us. "Through the storm your cries are heard - He will always be who He's always been - You can trust His holy word."
In a day and age when so many things are changing. Things we thought we could always count on are melting away in front of our eyes. But God is unchanging. What He said He'd do, He will do.
The song goes on to say: "He didn't fail Daniel in the lion's den. He didn't fail Abraham or Gideon. He didn't fail Noah on the ocean blue. No, He didn't fail Jonah, and He won't fail you." God didn't fail those who have gone before us, and He won't fail us!
There are so many testimonies of God's goodness, mercy, and help. They remind us that He is with us - that He will never, ever fail us. He has been with us - He is with us - and He will be with us! That doesn't mean we'll always get the exact answer we want! But He WILL meet us and help us.
While my grandkids have been here, we've looked at old photos and I've told them our "stories." The more stories I told, the more it became clearer and clearer to all of us that God has been with us! I think we tend to forget all the times He has led us, met us, answered prayer, provided, helped us, and been so amazingly, incredibly good and faithful! It's been a wonderful exercise of looking back and being grateful.
It's been fun too! :) Many of the stories the grandkids had never heard. They are returning home with a lot of McClung "history." It's kinda reminded me of when God told them in the Bible to tell things to their children and their children's children. I hope the testimonies of God's goodness to our family can be passed on to future generations.
"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me unto glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:23-26
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." Psalm 23:4
Because of His promise - "I am with you." - I have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about as I move into this new year. He has been with me in the past, and He will be with me in the coming year. I relax in His secure embrace. How wonderfully faithful He is.
We're only a few days into the new year, but the Lord has already been speaking something clearly to me for this year. TRUST. In a number of ways He has been reminding me of how important it is to trust Him. I can't live by circumstances! I must live by a firm, secure trust in Him. I've tried to do this all along our unexpected journey, but God has been speaking to me afresh about it.
To name just a few, these are things that can undermine trust:
· when we don't understand
· when the "pieces" don't fit
· when we have more questions than answers
· when we're sick, tired, weary
· when we feel overwhelmed by circumstances
· when things happen that bring pain to our hearts
· when we allow our mind to go to the "what ifs"
· when we feel stretched beyond what we can handle
When I face these things, I have found that I have to "purpose" my heart towards absolute trust in the Lord regardless of any and all situations that come my way. That trust has to be firm, secure, strong or else I won't be able to hold steady in it when things "hit" me.
I have recently felt bombarded by a number of things. It has felt like waves crashing over me - winds buffeting me one direction and then another. The solid rock of trust - because He IS my Rock - has held me firm and secure.
We human beings want answers. Especially in the day and age in which we live, when we have more and more answers to things in life - we want understanding of the things we face. We want to know what is happening, what to expect, what our choices are. But that isn't always possible. Having understanding/answers won't always happen. But having trust in the Lord, staying tucked in close to Him, will get us through each and every hard time.
I have a strong belief and conviction that God will bring good from hard times. But that can't happen if I don't trust Him. Through my decades of life, that is something that I have repeatedly worked on learning. I must trust God in every situation. As I trust Him, it frees Him to work in my life in ways that only He can......and to "redeem" the hard seasons with good things.
I realize that it's easier to talk about trusting Him all the time - than to actually do it. That's why I used the word "purpose" my heart towards absolute trust in the paragraph above. It's a choice. It must be a repeated choice. It has to be something we work at, something we strive for. It doesn't just happen. But it is wonderfully possible. And trusting Him in the hard times helps make the hard times easier to bear.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5,6
"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy." Psalm 28:7
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Psalm 20:7
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in You." Psalm 56:3
"Steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord." Psalm 32:10
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord." Jeremiah 17:7
On hard days when I'm confronted with weariness, with lack of understanding, with hard things - I simply say "I trust you Lord." It immediately releases the burdens from my heart and into the Lord's capable hands. I can then rest secure in His loving care. He is always good and faithful!