“Can’t we just sing
again next week?” That’s what my husband said when he heard our
topic for this week. I secretly wanted to agree
with him more than you could know.It’s been about two months or so that I’ve been trying to avoid writing on this subject (Still wondering aren’t you?). Actually, I really believed I had this area pretty much down in my Inner Journey.
Of course, I was wrong or it wouldn’t have shown up
here. I’d tell you not to share that
tidbit with my hubby, but he’s also taking the challenge.
Welcome new friends this week from:
New
on DFB – Ghana; Qatar; Curacao; Hong Kong;
Poland; Malaysia; South Africa, Kenya, Puerto Rico, Mexico; Cairo, Al Qahirah,
Eqypt; Zdunska Wola, Sieradz, Poland; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Nellore, Andhra
Pradesh, India; Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Ireland; Hove, England, United Kingdom; The
Hague, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands; New Plymouth, Tarankaki, New Zealand & Yokosuka-shi,
Kanagawa Japan.
USA
– Portland, Oregon; Chester, PA; Mountain View, Missouri; Hoisington, Kansas;
Smyrna, Georgia; Fairmont, Kabetogama, Minnesota; Sicklerville, Gloucester
City, Pitman, Mantua, Malaga, Millville, Williamstown, Newfield, Glassboro,
Hammonton, Franklinville, North Wildwood & Swedesboro, New Jersey.
I’m happy to see new people each week along with our
faithful followers. What fun to meet you
and share this Inner Journey together on Daily Favor. (DFB - Daily Favor Blog)
If I’ve missed anyone forgive me. Please share this
challenge and invite more friends to join us.
You are making a difference!
Don’t miss out on this week’s challenge
(below). Q & A
It Takes Two
In
order for there to be a relationship of any kind it takes two components,
usually people. Part of something
turning into a true relationship is the ingredient trust, without it there
really isn’t much of a foundation.
I
used to be a person that trusted practically everyone. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20’s that
the trust factor was broken, and since then it hasn’t been the same.
We all have times where trust has been destroyed,
whether it’s in a work situation, friend, family or spouse. Those kinds of things I sort of expected, but
what about the trust factor with God?
When
I began studying people who trusted God in the Bible it made me question where
my trust really was in my Inner Journey to Jesus. I reverted to the "Question Everything"
challenge and debated this issue back and forth in my mind.
Did
I really trust the Lord or was my trust based on whether or not my prayers were
answered according to my will? There is
no doubt that I’ve had tons of prayers answered over the years, but I’ve also
been upset with God when some of them didn’t go my way. Can I get a witness?
The
question I asked myself was “Do I really
put my trust in God or am I putting my trust in God doing what I wanted?” To settle this “trust vs. no trust” problem I
tried listing times when I really did know it was trust in God that carried me
through something. I’m ashamed to share
that I couldn’t really rattle off a long list of times when I knew I totally
trusted God for the outcome no matter what it was.
Doesn’t
believing God mean that you always trust Him?
If you were to look at my track record you wouldn’t think I did. So many times I have believed and trusted God
to answer my prayers for someone else, but not for myself. Why is it that our faith seems stronger when
it comes to other people’s problems?
I
found that on some occasions my trust would take me so far until I saw a
situation or was in the middle of it, and then fear replaced trust. As soon as that happens, God has nothing to
work with in carrying out our requests.
Without faith it’s impossible to please Him, and without faith there is
no trust.
Limited Trust in
Relationships
Can
you remember having a conversation like this with your parents? “Daddy, you
don’t trust me?” His response might have
been, “No I don’t.” Or maybe a parent said
they trusted you but not your friends or the place you wanted to go. There was usually a reason that they didn’t
divulge clearly to you, but it was enough for the relationship to be breached
in some way.
With
many of my students trust was a rare thing to them, because their parents never
kept their word on things.
To a child,
the word of a parent goes a long way, and to have that trust broken by
inconsistency causes doubt to build in any future relationships they may have
as adults.
We
want our kids to trust us, but we don’t keep our word. If you want people to trust you, keep your
word and follow through with what you promised. That thought is what brought me to look up
individuals in the Bible that really understood what it means to trust someone
completely.
They Trusted Unconditionally
Most
of the time we base trust on the activities of the other person on our
behalf; I trust you because … and so forth.
They gave us a reason to believe their word and trust naturally
followed.
Would
these same people still trust even if things weren’t going their way? We know of the account where Abraham took his
son Isaac to be sacrificed.
How do we know Abraham trusted God unconditionally?
How do we know Abraham trusted God unconditionally?
Following the passage in Genesis, Abraham lets us know by his very words
and actions that he puts his trust in God even if it meant killing His son.
Can
you imagine how this was all playing out in Abraham’s mind? “OK GOD, You said that I’m going to be the
Father of Nations through Isaac.
Somehow, someway You’ll make it happen, even if I sacrifice my son. Two came up the mountain and two will be
returning.”
“Stay
here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. Now this is where you know he trusted
God. “The boy and
I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come
right back.” (from Genesis 22 NLT)
Abraham
obviously believed in miracles, since Isaac was one, so this wouldn’t be a
problem for God in his eyes.
This
one was too easy; I needed another example.
Looking up the word “trust” in my concordance I turned to the book of
Daniel chapter 6, and read about him in the lion’s den. Now this was impressive. His faith and trust in God was so strong that
even the ruler King Darius changed his tune, and openly proclaimed that Daniel’s
God was the only Living and true God.
It
was obvious even to the King that Daniel received great favor from the Lord, because
of his unwavering faith and trust in Him.
“… For
He is the Living God, and He will endure forever. His Kingdom will never be
destroyed and His rule will never end.
He rescues and saves His people; He performs miraculous signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth …” (from Daniel 6 NLT)
Even
that didn’t convince me because things still went his way.
I
kept looking and came upon the event that practically everyone knows – the men
in the fire. This was what I was looking
for … I knew from what the subjects said to the King. You’ve got to read this for yourself:
“Nebuchadnezzar
said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that you refuse to
serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?”
All
these men had to do was change their confession and the King would let them
live. This is what I was looking for as
evidence of absolute trust in God without getting anything in return.
They
responded,
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
If we are thrown
into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your
Majesty.
But even if he doesn’t
(this is where it’s settled), we want to make it clear to you … we will never
serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (from Daniel 3:14-18 NLT)
They
continue to trust God in the midst of their worst trial, and remained steadfast
causing Jesus Himself to show up on the scene.
Their faith and trust in the Lord wasn’t ever in question. As a result
God saved them, the King promoted all three men and anyone who spoke against
their God would be destroyed. That’s
what some like to say is the “double favor” blessing.
Did I Do That? Could I?
From
the passages that I was reading anyone could tell that they certainly trusted
God no matter what happened - good or bad.
When did I ever trust God like that? I had a hard time remembering if I
ever did. Could I?
Thankfully,
the Holy Spirit helped me remember times when I did have that kind of
trust. What was my evidence that it was
being manifested in me? I had complete
peace about a situation and never fretted over it, even when things didn’t go my
way.
During those times I didn’t ask
why, but rather said, “God must have something better for me.” However, this is my most frequent statement,
and I remember it well, because I use it so often …
“Lean
not unto your own understanding.” I don’t even have to finish the sentence
and it quickens my actions and reactions from sliding into unbelief. (Learn this verse in song.) JumpStart3 | Proverbs 3:5-6
This is the
kicker …
In
prayer I heard this in my spirit … “Give
me a reason to trust you so I can build this trust thing with you.” To me, that sounded like a Father - child
relationship. My Heavenly Father was looking for
ways He could trust me to carry out something He needed accomplished here on
Earth.
There
are times God knows we trust Him, but can He trust us? Our actions prove that we aren’t always
trustworthy when we don’t believe the promises of God He speaks of in His Word.
Trust
is a two way thing and it takes two to build it. Have you checked your trust scale level with
God lately?
What things of value can He
trust you with from His Kingdom? The
amount of trust you release to Him is the exact amount you will receive from
the Lord. How much trust are you willing
to let go of in order to gain trust (which results in favor from God and man)?
Challenge of the
Week:
Finding Our Trust
Level.
As
we progress in our Inner Journey to Christ, the tasks may be more difficult,
because we have to really take a microscope to the true feelings behind our
behavior.
If God is going to bless His
children, He has to be sure the trust factor is built into it. We’re going to do two things to measure that
trust.
First: Write down a
list of times you specifically knew that you trusted God no matter how things
went. Think about when you were at peace
over decisions and that will help you to select the true trust incidents.
This
may take you all week to do as you contemplate each situation, weighing the
evidence as to whether or not it was trust or mere “hoping” things would work
out your way.
Second: List the ways
God can trust you. What examples can you
name that give evidence of your faithfulness so that He can entrust something
big to you? Look
at the things you have held back on as a percentage. If the “It takes two” factor is at 50%, than
you need to make the adjustments, not God.
The
question is why should God give us His all when we’re only willing to give Him
a portion of our trust? Let’s be willing
to make some major changes in learning to trust God with all our hearts, even
when we don’t understand or the answer to our prayers is no.
The
old 1967 Marvin Gaye song sings like this … “It
takes two, to make a dream come true.” Well, that is true for believers, but the other
person isn’t from here (Earth).
I’m
looking for ways to be promoted, because God saw I was trustworthy and cannot
be shaken or moved from my faith. How
about you?
We are not walking this
journey alone, it will take two (God and you/me) to make it to the end. Will we trust the Lord to get us to our destination? Trust Him to make your dreams and desires of
your heart come true.
Song of the Week. Click on the link.
Until
next time, favor comes through trusting God.
What's New this
Week: Click on the link.
by Jason Crabb
Lessons I've Learned about Grace, Loss, and Love
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
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Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version
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