Trusting vs. Grasping
When we set our desires before God, we build a relationship with Him. This is the difference between trusting and grasping.
We often equate trusting God to giving up the life you want, and accepting the martyrdom life that God is giving you. And God's not that simple. Yes, you have to be willing to walk the road that God puts before you. But we can rarely ever control our circumstances.
God wants to hear what you want. He wants to delight in the desires of your heart. When we set our desires before God, a relationship happens because we’re not grasping and manipulating. That’s the big difference between trusting and grasping.
Paul tells us not to be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6-7). He says we must go into every situation by prayer and petition. In moments of anxiety, Paul’s words remind us that we can be guilty of endlessly trying to control our lives. When you feel your head spinning because you don’t know what to do, get on your knees and pray.
Instead of being anxious, present the desires of your heart to God. Tell him exactly what you want to happen.
God listens and empathizes with your desire. You won’t always get what you want, but God will make great things happen in your life. You have a God who wants you to trust Him with your heart and with the things you hope and wish for.
When we bring our desires to God, we build
a trusting relationship with Him.
What we have in Jesus is a God that empathizes with our weaknesses and understands our desires and longings.
He knows what it feels like to not have what we want or even what we need at certain moments.
Even in Gethsemane, Jesus never lost faith. Rather than grasp for His life, He laid down His life so that God’s will is done. This is the ultimate trust.
So, why is trust such an important part of being a healthy person?
Surrender has been the greatest and scariest thing to ever happen to me. I spent a decade of my life trying to get the approval of others. That was my biggest desire until my 30’s. I was a pastor's wife, and no matter how hard I worked at it, it didn't come. In trying to get everybody's approval, I stuffed all the gifts that God has given me, and I lived with so much anxiety that I didn't sleep. It was an unhealthy situation.
When I surrendered everything to God, He began to speak, lead, and show me His will for my life. All those things were somewhat scary, and certainly cost me people's opinions.
Yet, I was happier and freer. I had less anxiety because I had surrendered the thing I was trying to control.
No longer did I have anxiety about it because I accepted it. Underneath our anxieties is some big fear. I feared that I would lose everybody, but I would still have God. Even though that surrender was so difficult, it was amazing.
“Trusting in the Spirit is a constant reminder that if we lose what we're craving, we still have heaven. And this can give you great courage.”
What grasping looks like
Grasping often appears as manipulation or anxiety when you can’t get what you think you need or want. It looks like trying to make everything work.
A lot of us do our best to control our circumstances. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, we must love and trust God enough to not panic when we hit a bump.
“The gift of difficulty and trial is that we learn perseverance and hope.”
We hope for what is to come, and we don't get afraid of those seasons because it’s beautiful to watch your faith spring into action.
The most important part of trust is that we don’t sit back with our hands open. We work with God, hopefully, to accomplish great things for Him and to provide for our families. You can’t expect your desires to fall from the sky somehow.
Our faith is accompanied by action because there's a collaboration in the season of trust.
We trust God, even while doing the work. We watch Him work with us and do what He asks us to do, even if it doesn't make sense or equal perfect provision.
I know this is tricky because we love to control our circumstances. And good for you on the days that it all works out. But on the days where it doesn't, we surrender and let go.
And we say,
“Okay, God. The cup’s not passing for me, but I'm still in.”
This is only a snippet from our ‘Made For This’ podcast, but you can listen to the full episode at the top of this page. We’re always trying to find creative ways to connect with you. So, we've set up a text message system where we can talk to you. Text “podcast” to 214-225-6267 to connect with us.
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