Daily Dose of Encouragement: Trust

Trust, otherwise known as a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, strength, of someone or something,” is crucial in healing, and living life in general.  Why?  Because if we never trust, then we will never take chances.  If we never push ourselves out of our comfort zones, we will never do hard things, and just as anyone with a chronic illness knows, getting better is certainly more difficult than becoming sick in the first place.   Of course, there are times in all of our lives that we are called to rest and wait, yet this does not last forever, and sooner or later God will call us to stretch the boundaries and trust in Him.  A personal example would be this week, when my family and I are taking a trip across the U.S to visit our family in Colorado.  While I am very happy to go, see my family, and have new experiences, traveling at this point in my illness is still very hard on my body.  Somehow, I always end up with a cold or extra sickness of some sort that makes me feel even worse than I normally do.  Not only that, but just the act of being away from home, can throw my body for a loop.  Naturally, it is only human to fear how my body might handle the plane ride, if I am going to be able to physically have enough energy to deal with the airport, or be able to deal with the physical pain that comes with  having to put how I feel aside, and do the hard thing that traveling is.  Yet, despite all of these rather seemingly logical reasons as to why going to Colorado might leave me fearful and hesitant, I have learned throughout the years that I must continually remind myself not to let the worry and dread of stretching my bodies limits overcome me, but instead, trust that God will take care of me and provide all that I need.  Truly, we never know how God might use or work in us, therefore, not only does trusting in Him to help us through everyday challenges lift a ginormous burden off of our shoulders, but it also gives us the freedom to dream of all that God can do.  We as humans think we are good at trusting, yet this only lasts until the moment something goes wrong.  Then, we become anxious, leading us to panic and forget that we were ever trusting in the situation to begin with.  However, it is key to continually remind ourselves that the Lord is with us wherever we go, He will give us strength to do all things, and not once do we need to worry about how seemingly bad or good, the turn of events will pan out.  If all of these promises are true, why do we ever find ourselves becoming worrisome and not putting our full trust in God? I find that if my trust is wavering, in whatever situation it may be, it is because I never truly put my entire belief in Christ’s ability to do all that He promises, but rather was trying to figure out how I could make the situation go perfectly through my own physical effort.  However, just a little trust, is not trust at all, and we must realize that in order to firmly plant our belief in Christ and all that He can, and will do for us, we must completely surrender.  Giving our everything to the unknown can be frightening, especially in the case of a chronic illness, when we know that there may be pain and extra exhaustion involved.  Yet we must put to side all that we think will happen, and trust that God will be in control, and whatever happens, He will not bring us to something, without leading us through it victoriously.  We cannot know what God may do for us, unless we would give Him the chance to prove His everlasting power and strength through a situation in life that we otherwise would not choose to conquer if it was up to our own doing.  However, when we trust in something bigger then ourselves, there is no need to fret or become worrisome, about what we think will happen, or all of the reasons why it is impossible for us to do such a thing. Rather, we can be bold, brave, and stand firm in knowing that we can place our full trust in God, whenever, through whatever, because He will never leave us nor forsake us, and will always help us do all things.