I Am Reliant.

From the time I was born up until this point I have been attending church every Sunday that I possibly could. My mom is the choir director of my home church and between that and actively singing in the praise team and attending our youth group, we tended to never miss a Sunday. I spent my whole upbringing listening to countless sermons, messages, and small group lessons and I have read quite a bit of scripture in my life. One of the main themes that comes up, both in scripture and in teachings, is that we need to “rely on God.” No matter how many times I hear this, I still seem to underestimate God’s ability to provide when we place our trust in Him. I spent some time this week digging into scripture and focusing heavily on this topic.

I feel that this phrase can be summed up by one of the most famous passages of scripture:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust.” I feel like this word can make quite a few of us flinch or even twitch at the sound of this word. Webster’s dictionary defines trust as: “belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc. assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. One in which confidence is placed.”

One of the terms used to describe trust is “reliant.” This can be defined as: “needing someone or something for help, support, etc.” 

Think about this with me for a second. Who in your life would you say that you trust? Who do you rely on? When push comes to shove to they live up to words such as good, honest, strong, and confidential? In my life experience, even the best of people can still let us down sometimes. That doesn’t mean they are a terrible person, it just means that they are human! When Adam and Eve committed the first sin they invited doubt and fear into this world because of their knowledge of good and evil. This was not God’s intended design. We were intended to walk alongside of Him. Through the redemption of Jesus Christ we now have the ability to do so again, but even if we have professed our love of Christ and have committed to a life of following and serving Him that does not mean we have it all together.

Something I have learned from my journey with Christ is that things aren’t always going to be easy. We are called to take up our cross daily. When you think about what Jesus had to do when he was crucified, the cross was not meant to be something that was easy to bare. It was intended to bring discomfort and even pain on his journey to Calvary all while being persecuted and mocked along the way. Even though the road was difficult, Christ trusted in God’s plan for Him and relied on his strength to get him there.

When thinking about my season of life, raising support to be a campus missionary, times aren’t always easy. But I’m reminded that we are called to take up the cross daily. Every day is a new adventure and God is there, ready to help us along the way. We just have to acknowledge his presence and ask for him to help us get to our destination. Relying fully on God is something this process is teaching me. I can choose to push through the pain and discomfort alone, or I can call out to God in my despair and ask Him to help me. Trusting in God comes through inviting him into all parts of your journey, both the good AND the bad.

It won’t always be easy and he knows it. Christ said right before he was to be crucified, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Christ knows what he is to endure and he is afraid, He asks God what he really wants to say, but he still recognizes that God’s will is the ultimate plan. This is such a good example of trust! We can openly admit that what we are called to do is not easy, but trust comes in the knowledge that God’s will is PERFECT.

So many times throughout this process I have neglected to ask God to help me, to rely and trust in Him to provide the path for my steps. However, I took this week to cry out to God, much like Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane, and tell him that I NEED HIM. I need God to get me through this time of support raising. I CANNOT do this without His guidance. I’ve learned that trusting in God is being vulnerable enough to say you need help and being confident enough to rely on Him to pull you through.

“The strength to do what God calls us to do does not come from us. It comes from God, and it comes through trusting Him.”