To the only wise God, be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:27 ESV)
It takes a lot to trust someone, especially when the stakes are high. When we were young, we trusted our parents blindly because we did not have any choice. As we grow older, we learn how to withdraw our trust from untrustworthy people. As new Christians, it is easy to trust in God; the fervour of our first love [Revelations 2:4] has not waned. But over the years, hardened by different trials, disappointments, and hardships in life, it can be difficult at times to continue to trust in the Lord. But what is our choice?
What is the bottom line for us? Do we trust our own limited and imperfect wisdom, or continue to trust in God’s perfect and limitless wisdom? The Lord created us for our good, not for our disaster nor destruction. God wants us to have a life in fullness and abundance [John 10:10]. Where else would we want to be but in the hands of an all-knowing, all-wise God?
So How Do You Trust More in God’s Wisdom?
- Be assured of Romans 8:28: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV) God does not promise us a rose garden in this lifetime; we need to be strong in facing hardships and trials in life, knowing He will be there for us throughout the ordeal.
- Have a healthy respect for God’s ways and yield your thinking to God’s wisdom. Our understanding is nothing compared to that of God’s. It is okay to trust God even if we do not understand everything.
- Know that God is after your maturity and growth in character as a disciple. Like a useful knife, the only way you get sharp is by facing the grinding stone many times. Be strong, knowing you are growing in becoming like Jesus daily. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)
- Be child-like in trusting in God. Do not over-analyse things; sometimes, as adults, we do that. In times we tend to over-think things, let us be like a child in trusting God like a young child fully trusts in his or her parents.
- Know who you are putting your trust with: He is the God who created us; He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is in control who is in control of all things. He loves you and cares deeply for you regardless of the situation you are facing. God is the most trustworthy person you can depend on.
- Know that you are on the winning side of life. In all things, be a conqueror, not a victim. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (Romans 8:35 ESV) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39 ESV).
OTHER SCRIPTURE PASSAGES:
- For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
- Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor? (Romans 11:33- 34 ESV)
- But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17 ESV)
- Other Bible verses: Psalm 92:5; Psalm 147:5; Proverbs 1:7; Isaiah 40:28; and 1 Corinthians 1:25.
FOR REFLECTION OR SHARING:
- How often do you struggle with God’s wisdom, and at times you feel you know better?
- How can you develop a more child-like trust in the wisdom of God?
Tom Caballes is a National Coordinator of the Lamb of God, a community of the Sword of the Spirit with seven branches located throughout New Zealand. Tom and his wife Mhel and their two daughters [with his son-in-law and grand-daughter] live in Wellington, New Zealand.