Trusting God is the theme of the day. 

I do not believe it is an exaggeration to say the vast majority of human problems, struggles and issues rise out of not trusting God. Even when we say we trust Him, we don’t truly, deep in our hearts, trust Him. We don’t trust Him to provide for us, to help us or to truly guide us in the way we should go. The result? We come up with all kinds of ways to get what we want or to get our needs met. Some ways are illegal, some are immoral and some are even impossible for us or others to live with, but we pursue them because we don’t trust Him. Is there any other way?

What are the consequences of not trusting God? 

  • We lie to protect ourselves because we don’t trust God to protect us or to bring about the results we desire.
  • We cheat and steal because we don’t trust God to give us what He apparently gives others.
  • We fight because we don’t feel God will defend or protect us.
  • We argue and get angry because we don’t believe anyone is listening, when all the time God knows and hears all. He’s always listening.
  • We worry, fret and fill ourselves with anxiety (fear) because we don’t believe He is with us, for us or will provide for our needs. 
  • We scheme, struggle, strive, work hard, trying to prove ourselves worthy to get our needs met because we believe we are not worthy. All the while we are so precious and valuable to God we cannot even conceive the worth He places on each one of us.

He paid the ultimate price to have relationship with us, yet we don’t see it or appreciate the full value of it. Why?

The answers are varied but all rooted in one thing – The Lie Satan sowed in our original ancestors. “Hath God said…?” Did God really speak to you, saying you could not eat of every tree in the Garden?

The full story is in Genesis chapter three beginning in verse one. You need to read the full story to catch the subtle twist the snake puts on the truth.  

Did God really speak to you? Can you trust Him to speak to you, you of all people? You know  what a wretch you are. What makes you think God would speak to you? Don’t you know God cannot be trusted to tell you the truth? Why, He knows the moment you eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil you will become like Him and He doesn’t want that! 

I am paraphrasing the story, but do you see the point? The Snake wanted us to believe we couldn’t trust God to speak to us and tell us the truth. Religiosity maintains this barrier to relationship with God. All relationships come about through communication. When we don’t believe God will speak to us, the automatic result is distrust.

Relationship produces fruit.

Religiosity produces nuts. 

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (shalom), patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. No law has ever been made against these. 

Galatians 5:22-24

The Lie calls the very nature of God into question. The Lie opens the door for a false identity to be sown in mankind –worthless, deceived, unimportant to God. When we believe a lie about God, we easily believe lies about ourselves and others. He is the source of our being. He is the Creator and the one who determines our identity. If we can’t trust Him, then we become subject to identity theft. 

Who is the kindest person you have ever known? I am thinking of someone who never speaks evil of others. Someone who is always there for you, hears you and listens to you. Someone who responds to you when you have a question or when you speak to them. Someone who never ignores you, never walks away or avoids you. Who could comfort you like nobody else? Who is the kindest person you have ever known? 

The answer I often get is Grandma. There may be other answers. Now take the kindest person you have ever known and think of how much more kind God is. God is infinitely more kind than the kindest human being you have ever known. God is the kindest being in the universe. Yet we don’t trust Him. Why?

If I spoke to my grandma, the kindest person I have ever known, she would always respond to me. She never upbraided me. She never put me down. She never scolded me, although when she corrected or disciplined me, she did so with gentleness and love. She never punished me. She never ignored me. How much more kind is God?

If you don’t trust Him, you will never know His kindness. You will never know how valuable you are to Him. You will never come to understand your true identity. You will never fulfill your destiny. Without Him it is impossible to get anything done right. In Him, with Him, by Him, for Him, through Him -you can get it all done right, just as He has planned. 

If these words have touched something in your heart and you want to trust God more, but don’t know how to proceed, please sign up for a personal Sozo encounter with Him. Sozo is the Greek New Testament word that was first used in Matthew 1:21 where is says Yeshua (Jesus) has come to sozo us from our sins. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, so all of us need Yeshua to sozo us —to rescue, heal, deliver and make us whole. Shalom is wholeness of being. This is what Jesus has come to give us –restoration to the wholeness we had before we believed The Lie.

At Sozo Freedom Steps Ministry, our tagline say: His steps. Your freedom! We believe all of us have mountains to climb. If you are facing a mountain of depression, anxiety, worry, fear, or anything at all that is keeping you from knowing your true identity and pursuing your destiny, we can help. Sign up here.

 

Note: Shalom is a word richer in meaning than the English word peace. It means wholeness and well-being. Read more about that here: http://firm.org.il/learn/the-meaning-of-shalom/