Trusting God

by Pastor Dan

A few weeks ago, I received a call from someone who was struggling with something in their life.  After listening to the issue they were dealing with, I said, “Would you please ask me a question and I will see if I can answer it.”  Their question was a common one:  “What would you do if you were in my situation?”  I answered it with this statement:  “I would counsel myself.”
It is interesting to me sometimes how people look at the world around them and how they see themselves in that picture.  For me, sometimes I know that I must counsel myself every day.  Here is what the Bible has written in the Psalms: “How long, O Lord?  Will You forget me forever?  How long will You hide Your face from me?  How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long will my enemy be exalted over me?  Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.  But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Psalm 13
The Psalmist, while struggling with life, discovers that the words he tells himself in the midst of his struggle do not help or encourage him at all.  He then goes to God and waits for an answer to his situation.  There are three words that he uses to counsel his soul and to be encouraged.  They are trust, rejoice, and sing.  
The battle that I often find myself in is the battle between who I am as a person in Jesus Christ and who I was before I became a Christian.  Because of this, the battle between my soul and my spirit is alive and well even today.  Even in the morning when I get up, I have to encourage or “counsel” myself to take on the day no matter what comes my way.  I began to share with this person how important these three things are in the counseling of myself with Jesus Christ, my counselor.
Counselor is one of the names that the prophet Isaiah in the Bible gave to Jesus.  In fact, he even used “Wonderful Counselor” as the name for Jesus.  “Wonderful” is an amazing word that means that a marvelous thing has been done that is beyond our own understanding.  Miracle is the word that is often used in this same context. 
So here are the three ways we can counsel ourselves as we receive counsel by Jesus, who is our Wonderful Counselor.  Trust in God’s love towards us.  Whether we know it or not, we need the help Jesus gives in every aspect of our lives.  When we go through difficulties and sense that we do not have the mental or even physical strength to make it through them, we can always trust on the lovingkindness of God.  Our trust in Jesus says that even though we don’t understand, He does.  Not only does He understand but He also knows what is best for us.  If we do not understand and allow Jesus to guide our thoughts, actions, and responses, then and only then can we have peace through the situation…and we can also have peace with the results of it.  Look at the results that come from that trust by what the psalmist says:  “My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.”  The very situation that brings you pain, disappointment, or challenges now, through the peace of Jesus, can bring happiness in your heart.  Read what the psalmist says in Psalms 27:14:  “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
Finally, look at what happens when we trust Jesus and let him fill our heart with peace.  We now see how Jesus has blessed us even through a difficult and challenging part of life.  Even as the Apostle Paul in the New Testament neared the end of his life and reflected on the numerus times he experienced this process in his life, he said this: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”  2 Timothy 4:7-8
So today, are you going through something challenging in your life?  Join with me in learning to trust Jesus, rejoice in all things, and sense the power of God’s love.  May God bless you richly.

Blessings,
Pastor Dan