How to Trust God No Matter Your Circumstances
I’ve read about trusting the Lord in Proverbs 3 at least a thousand times.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones (Proverbs 3:5–8).
If you grew up in church or around someone who loves the Lord, you have most likely encountered this powerful passage as well. In my own life, I have found that it has not always been easy to follow this advice, not because God isn’t trustworthy, but because at times I have given in to my own fears, thoughts, and feelings. The promises of God are yes and amen, but they aren’t always tangible or visible when we want them to be. The Bible tells us, in Isaiah 55:8, that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours. On the one hand, I openly celebrate that. But on the other hand, I have found that it can be challenging when what the Lord is saying doesn’t look like what I want to hear or see. Have you ever been there?
Perhaps my best life example of this is my lengthy journey toward marriage. One of my greatest desires had always been to be a wife and a mother. Honestly, it wasn’t something that I ever imagined would be a struggle. One of the scriptures I patterned my life after was, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4 NKJV). I lived a rock-solid life for God in my 20s, traveling and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping others to discover His great love for them. But by the time I hit my mid-30s, was still single, did not see any viable options, and had experienced some painful rejections, I started to have doubts.
Coming home to an empty apartment day after day, I didn’t feel like God loved me or even cared about me. I was battling through a cancer diagnosis at the time as well, which meant multiple treatments and doctors’ visits that seemed to further highlight that I was alone and unwanted. It just felt so unfair. I had chosen to live a chaste life before God as a single woman, which meant abstaining from sex and other compromising situations, but it seemed to me that all the women I saw who weren’t living that standard had their men and their happily-ever-afters. It felt like the joke was on me. Needless to say, that forbidden fruit started to look pretty good.
I found myself saying things like, “Maybe marriage just isn’t in the cards for me.” “Maybe I’m just too big and not attractive enough.” “Maybe I’m just better off alone.” My relationship status had become my focus, and I had allowed what I was seeing and feeling to become more real to me than what God had promised concerning my life. While that is so easy to do, especially in areas we really care about, it is also very dangerous. Satan was able to dethrone Eve because her trust was misplaced, and he will gladly do the same to us if we allow him. He will parade counterfeits and set traps that look the part but lead to destruction. Many times, I came close to settling and forfeiting my crown— until the day I truly realized how great God’s love for me is and how much I can trust Him.
In Proverbs 3:5–8, it says:
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life (MSG).
I remember the day I finally accepted that truth. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. The stress of trying to figure it out myself—or the fear that something was wrong with me—dissipated in the arms of a loving God who reminded me that He had my back. It wasn’t a question of whether God would take care of me but of whether I was going to trust Him. I didn’t just need to trust that God would bring someone for me, but I needed to also allow Him to grow me up and prepare me for what I couldn’t see at that time—my wonderful husband, Lee.
It is so easy to get caught up, like Eve, in what you see, but perhaps it’s time to upgrade your lenses. If you don’t trade in those natural views for a heavenly one, your life will seem depressing. Life will certainly throw situations your way that appear as if all hope is gone, but when you take another look with heavenly lenses, that hopeless situation can take on a whole different view.
The Alternate View
And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased (Matthew 14:26–32 NKJV).
One of the most popular stories in the Bible is that of Peter walking on the water. I admire Peter’s spunk; he was the only one who asked to get out of the boat. Despite his falter, what Peter accomplished was a miracle. But let’s take a look at why that miracle was cut short. Many blessings are available when you get out of the boat of comfort and stretch forth to Jesus. Everything that Peter needed to defy gravity was present the moment Jesus spoke that word, come. The interesting thing is, we know Peter experienced power because he did walk on the water. Sometimes we think, Lord, if I can just experience Your power, I will never doubt again. But just as it did with Peter, doubt can creep in even after you’ve already been walking in your miracle. I can personally attest to that.
Several years into the ministry, I had overcome much fear and had grown mightily in the preaching grace that God had placed on my life. It was almost a miracle for me to be able to say that I had become comfortable behind the pulpit, which was something I never thought would be the case. I had several successful messages under my belt and was excited about the future. Then one day, a compliment turned into a mountain of fear in my life. I had just finished ministering a message that went over very well. It was anointed and powerful. Usually when I am done preaching, I gather my things and head straight home. But on this day, I decided to stick around and talk to the people. It was amazing to hear the impact the message had had on those I conversed with. They cried; they raved; they celebrated. I heard marvelous testimonies and received so much encouragement. Over the next few days, my email was filled with even more testimonies and praise, all as a result of that one message.
At first, I was thankful that God had allowed me to minister that word and that He had anointed it. I surely did not take that for granted. However, over the next several days, that gratitude turned to fear. You see, the more compliments I received, the more I began to worry about my next message. How could I ever top this one? So many people were expressing their excitement over hearing my next message that I became sure I could never deliver anything as effective as what they had experienced through my last message. I had forgotten that my ministry gift wasn’t through my power but was a result of the grace of God on my life. God does not run out of power! Here I was ready to quit the ministry so that I could leave on a high note, simply because I took my eyes off Jesus and bought the lie of the enemy.
Satan presented an alternate view of my situation just like he did with Peter and with Eve in the garden. Make no mistake about it, he will always present a contradicting view of God’s blessings in your life in an attempt to short-circuit them. Peter had indeed experienced the power of God in operation those first few steps, but when that wind became boisterous, he had the choice of two perspectives to adopt: the perspective of faith or that of fear. You will not always be able to control what is going on around you, but you can control the view you decide to accept about your situation. In Peter’s case, the wind stopped as soon as they got back into the boat, which shows us that the wind’s purpose was to stop that miracle. The next time you are tempted to put on those glasses of doubt, remember that the thief never comes for an empty house. That temptation is there because you are right where you are supposed to be. Let go of the fear and flourish in the grace of God.
