“Trusting God Through the Hard Times”

I know that its hard to trust God at times. I know that you have your good days and then you have some really rough days where you’re like.. Lord, how long before.. this or that?

I’ve learned that I can’t focus on “this or that” or what I think I’m lacking. My focus must be on the Lord alone because if I ain’t content with just Him, then He won’t bring things into my life so that I can make those things my idols. 

Philippians 4:11-13 New Living Translation (NLT)

 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ,[a] who gives me strength.

So, the secret to not having a man or having a man is Christ. The secret to not getting that promotion or getting it is Christ. The secret to not having a car or having a car in Christ. Now, insert your situation. The answer is knowing that Christ gives you strength to be content and to trust Him, even when you don’t understand. So, whether it happens or not, you are content in Christ. Isn’t that a powerful statement? You may have read that scripture a million times but maybe it hasn’t really become real in your heart. We must come to a place in our walk where we say, “Lord, whether it happens or not, you are my portion, you are my strength, you are my joy. I TRUST you as a good Father to provide what I NEED in due season.”

Do I “have” everything I want? 

Gosh, that’s no longer my focus. It can’t be your focus either. Just wake up, take each day.. day by day and give your days the the Lord. I used to focus on what I didn’t have and then those things became amplified in my heart. If you stare at something long enough, that thing will be all you can see. And some of us keep staring at other peoples relationships, other peoples ministries, other peoples success, other peoples this or that. We’ve taken our eyes off of Christ and we have put them on humans. 

How can we change this?

Our focus must shift from what we think we need to the cross. So, if that door opens or not, it doesn’t matter. Our focus was never in that door opening, it’s in Christ so if the door opens, great, if not, It wasn’t supposed to open so I trust Him. 

My husband and I took a walk the other day and we walked by this apartment building that was being demolished. It looked TERRIBLE! Bulldozers were everywhere and I was thinking, gosh, what a huge undertaking! The Holy Spirit told me that THIS is what we look like when we give our lives to Jesus. It looks like a huge bulldozer came in and destroyed your entire heart. God wrecks our relationships, our old mindset and our lives and then, brick by brick with the RIGHT foundation.. He prepares our hearts. And, this is where it gets hard. 

Why?

Because you’re used to a certain level of being comfortable prior to Christ. And although the foundation was jacked up, you were still comfortable in your bondage. You were comfortable in your dysfunctional relationships. You were comfortable in your depression.  You were comfortable in your sin. 

Then Christ came and changed your heart. He convicted you of your sin and the Holy Spirit came in, destroyed the sin and started the real healing process. So, as the foundation is laid.. it can be pretty painful. It can be hard. It can be frustrating. Things can seem slow. God won’t allow certain bricks to be laid from your past. Things can seem almost like you’re forgotten but you must stay faithful to the Lord an keep living for Him. You cannot stop, you cannot quit, you cannot run back to the vomit that the Lord has freed you from! There’s NO profit there! One day, your house will stand tall and beautiful with the RIGHT foundation. So then, when the attacks and the winds of this world come, it won’t be able to knock your house down. 

Matthew 7:25 “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

Jesus is preparing you for ETERNITY. This life is so much bigger than these temporary things. SO, learn to be content RIGHT where you are. An event won’t change a discontent heart so even with that child you prayed for, you still may find yourself unhappy. Even with that husband you believed God for, you will still find that he ain’t the source of your joy. Even moving to that new location, you will find ways to be unhappy. Being content is a heart issue. Your contentment proves who you trust. 

Who do you trust?

God loves you like crazy,

Heather Lindsey