A life lived by fully trusting God begins with a simple faith in the forgiveness offered through Jesus. But this simple faith will grow as we apply it to the varied and difficult circumstances which inevitably come our way. Not many of us begin with the faith of Peter; "Lord, if it's You, tell me to come to You on the water" (Matthew 14:28). Rather, we cautiously test the water by trusting God in small areas of our life. But as we see His promises hold true and witness the blessings of walking in obedience, we ought to begin to step with greater confidence and trust Him more and more.
Prior to crossing into the promised land, Moses told the people of Israel: "Do not be afraid, for the Lord goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6). This is one of the many promises which remain with us today. As we walk with God into the land of promise - the land of contentment and peace - we must learn to truly apply these promises and consistently live by them. He is RIGHT THERE! And He wants us to live with the contentment of knowing He is in control.
But full trust is difficult! Every day we are bombarded with things which attempt to pull us away from God and steal our joy. Though He is walking right beside us, and absolutely nothing catches Him by surprise, we seldom even think of Him during our day. This should not be! If we are truly His child, we are being called to trust Him with ALL and allow Him to live in and through us - this is the life He desires us to live.
We must continually believe the truth of His Word and allow our faith to mature by taking steps which lead us closer to God - even if our steps of faith seem small. With each new step, we will more clearly see the truth of God's promises. We will begin to see past the visible garbage of this world and begin to gaze with wonder on "Him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27). The life of contentment and peace is the life of total commitment and surrender.
Psalm 31:5 "Into Your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth."
What part of our life are we holding back from God? If we really believe He created the Universe and sent His Son to die for the forgiveness of our sin so we can spend eternity with Him in Heaven, isn't it foolish for us to think we can do a better job of controlling ANYTHING? If we trust Him for our eternal destiny, shouldn't we trust Him for the much more trivial matters of our daily life? Our God is VERY capable and He CAN be trusted! Though it may not seem as dramatic a step as Peter's, we are all being called out of the boat. We are being called to believe and trust with all our heart. Let's not allow another day to go by without fully committing our body, soul, mind and spirit, our absolute all and EVERY area of our life, into His hands.
Have a Christ Centered Day!
Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries
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Archive of previous devotions : http://www.gdwm.org/archive08.htm