“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Trusting God with everything I am and have and do!
Does the following sound familiar?
- Step into faith
- Just give it to God
- Have faith in God’s plan
- Just let go!! And Let God do the rest!!
- God will not forsake you
Even though I know all these things and understand that it is something I need to do as a child of God, I really struggled with this idea of “stepping into faith” or Letting Go or believing that God’s got this.
It makes me feel like a failure. As if I do not have enough faith to do it and let God take all my worries and out of my hands and letting God take over.
I pondered on these thoughts for so many nights, thinking – Why can I not step off the cliff and just know that God’s hands will be there to catch me? And then Holy Spirit gave me this:
HAVING FAITH IN GOD AND
TRUSTING GOD
ARE TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS
Having Faith and having Trust are not the same!!! Faith is believing that God is who God says He is and that what God can do, only God can do. But trust!!! … Trust takes things a step further. It is making the wilful choice to trust that God will do what He promises.
Ok, now I know that FAITH and TRUST are not the same thing. That still does not answer my question on how to trust God with all I have. And then my question to God changed from “Why do I struggle with my faith in You Lord?” to “Why do I struggle with my trust in You Lord?”. And then Holy Spirit, with His compassion and abounding love, answered me.
The human equivalent of trust is this:
If my dear friend tells me that I must let Samuel look after my daughter for the day, I will tell her “NO WAY!!!! I don’t know Samuel. There is no way ever that I will trust Samuel with my daughter.” And I ask my friend “Why can you let Samuel look after your daughter then?” And her reply is this: “I have known Samuel since I was a little girl. We grew up together and we spend endless hours together and I know Samuel so well that I have peace in my heart that he will look after my child very well.” And that is when it sank into my brain:
In order for me to trust God, I need to know Him and the only way that I will really know Him, is by spending time with Him…
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You
Isaiah 26:3 ESVAnd those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10 ESV
Who is God to me:
“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15
I knew that God Loves me no matter what (I wrote it down in a previous letter) and I know that God has unconditional love towards me, and that I need not do any works AT ALL for His love.
Unconditional love is hard to comprehend as it is not an everyday thing that we grow up with. My perspective on unconditional love is that our human unconditional love is TOTALLY different from God’s unconditional love.
Unconditional means this:
- Not subject to any conditions
- Affection without limitations
- Complete
I still had a question… Why? Why do You love me? And why do I not have to do anything for Your love Lord? And this is what He answered me:
The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.] 1 John 4:8 AMP
Because GOD IS LOVE
Because God IS love, His love is not based on His emotions and feelings > meaning that He is made of LOVE and does not need to base His feelings of us on how we act or react or what we do or not do.
How I see it – If God existed from the beginning of time and God is never ending and God does not change, that means that Love existed from the beginning of time and Love is never ending, Love cannot change, Love was there and will always be there and everywhere because God is everywhere.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Revelation 22:13In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8
God defines Love, meaning that He made the rules of what Love is, He marked out the boundaries and sets its limits and somewhere along the way we were “programmed” to see love differently than what He intended it to be between us and Him. The other evening, I was spending time with Jesus and this is what He showed me:
I was kneeling in front of God the Father, holding His feet, just wanting to be as close as possible to Him. Jesus came and kneeled next to me and He put His arm around me, looking at me with immense understanding. The next moment I am in front of a door. I felt that God the Father wat in the room behind the door. I was so desperately wanting to be in God’s presence that I started banging on the door with my fists so that He let me in. As I did this, the door swung open and I basically fell into the room. And at that moment I literally felt God’s Love all around me in this room. This boundaryless space wat just God’s Love. Jesus and I started running into this Love with joy!
And that is when I realised that when I fell into the room, I literally fell into God and into His Love. Because God is Love.
You see, God’s main purpose is to have a love relationship with me. He already Loves me UNCONDITIONALLY, and he wants me to love Him back, UNCONDITIONALLY.
God has no purpose for my spiritual gifts, accomplishments, or what I do o a daily basis (my works) when I am with Him. He does not need any of those things from me when I am with Him. God is complete already.
For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Malachi 3:6Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Isaiah 40:28-29
What does this have to do with trusting God?
To trust God, I need to know Him. An to understand God’s love is my first step into really knowing Him. And I think in order for me to know Him more is to keep seeking His presence. It really freed me. And I am continually learning more and new things about God.
Every time that I stand before Him, with nothing to offer, I now feel freedom. (I used to feel guilt, shame and anxiety because I had nothing to offer Him and it is totally the opposite.) For the very same reason that I used to feel guilt, shame and anxiety when I go to Him, I now feel free because I have nothing to offer Him. He only wants me. Come before the Lord with nothing!
Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent John 17:3
Listen to these songs:
- Nothing Else by Cody Carnes
- Wait upon the Lord (Spontaneous) by Leeland
- Your face is Beautiful by Iron Bell Music
- Psalm 63 by Shane & Shane
- To my knees by Hillson Young & Free
- Open Heaven (River Wild) by Hillsong Worship
- I will wait by David Leonard
Written by: Nanje Ravenscroft
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Please share to everyone you know, so that we can spread the good news of the Grace of Christ. Even if it sets one person free that struggled with the same, it will be worth it. Shalom.