Trust God to Endure - God's Love at Work - Week of November 3
Trust God to Endure
by Margaret D. Mitchell
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.” -Psalm 125:1-2
Not all believers in God are followers of Christ.
And every follower will be tested in the area of trusting God with all things, proving out their level of belief in His promises to them—His integrity and identity that is His Word, His very essence of truth.
No place do we meet the challenge of these trust tests more than when we feel the sting of the valley of the shadow of death—a journey where pain and impossibility persists greater than we have endured previously. And sometimes, we just have to walk through the valley with Him.
But what’s important to remember is that God’s Word and presence and grace prevails over all circumstances. And we can see and know and feel His peace and power if we will simply trust and obey Him during experiences that we don’t understand.
God has plans and purposes that He will reveal to us on the backend of the test. Thus, He will transform us in the journey, making us more dependent upon Him, wiser and more fruitful for the endurance…if we trust and obey Him.
God is…
·Our strong rock that cannot be shaken
·Our foundation
·Our hedge of protection
·Our deliverer
·Our justice
·Forever with us
·Everlasting
God endures with us, and we can trust Him with all things in all times, even when His purposes don’t seem to make sense to us, and we’re not even sure how to apply His Word to our current circumstances.
God will prove Himself true and trustworthy, if you will give Him opportunity in your circumstances and stay the course, processing through them His way.
1 Peter 2:19-21, 23 (NIV) assures us...
"For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God…if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. [Jesus] entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly."
Trust is a choice to consistently believe God at His Word (truth, promises) above our feelings, fears, rationales and facts regarding every facet of circumstance in our lives at all times. Since Jesus trusted Father God for justice in His painful circumstances on the cross, shouldn’t we?
God will be with us the whole way to show us the way.
When we trust God, we can be assured that He delivers us into His promises…
“All those minds shall be truly stayed, that are stayed on God. They shall be as Mount Zion, firm as it is; a mountain supported by providence, much more as a holy mountain supported by promise. They cannot be removed from confidence in God. They abide for ever in that grace which is the earnest of their everlasting continuance in glory. Committing themselves to God, they shall be safe from their enemies. Even mountains may moulder and come to nothing, and rocks be removed, but God's covenant with his people cannot be broken, nor his care of them cease. Their troubles shall last no longer than their strength will bear them up under them. The rod of the wicked may come, may fall upon the righteous, upon their persons, their estates, their liberties, their families names, on any thing that falls to their lot; only it cannot reach their souls. And though it may come upon their lot, it shall not rest thereon. The Lord will make all work together for their good. The wicked shall only prove a correcting rod, not a destroying sword; even this rod shall not remain upon them, lest they distrust the promise, thinking God has cast them off." - Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentaryfor Psalm 125:1-3
A Crucial Point…
We must trust in God’s righteousness above our self-righteousness. What we think should be a right application or solution for our circumstances may not be right in God’s eyes. Sometimes, God uses a new thing or a difficult person or unlikely situation to work transformation in us. This is why we must opt to trust Him every step of the way, taking everything before His throne and getting His Word of truth and direction on all matters. Full submission is the way to feel His peace.
Daniel Trusted…
Philippians 4:6 (NLT) reminds us: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done."
This is exactly what Daniel did, and we can do the same.
Here’s how Daniel prayed:"So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to The Lord my God and confessed and said, ‘Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and loving-kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.’” - Daniel 9:3-4, 17-19 (NASB)
I pray that the morning will bring you Word of His unfailing love as you put your trust in Him and that God will show you the way you should go when you lift up your soul to Him (Psalm 143:8). Amen.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ. This devotional was adapted from Margaret's forthcoming book, Enduring Grace. All rights reserved.
