TRUSTING GOD

A song came over my streaming service recently that I had not heard in a while. It’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” sung by Carrie Underwood. I’m sure most of us are familiar with that song. I have not heard it in a long time and it’s a little ironic that it came on when I’m in a place of contemplating what it’s like to really trust Jesus.

There are situations in life that hit us broadside, and in reality, we know there’s not much we can do to “fix” it. We just have to ride out the wave, that seems to be pummeling us under its power and pressure. Many times, we may have no clue what to do, and we struggle, or hurt or are frustrated.

But are we really trusting God to handle the situation? I think many of us are so used to taking action when perhaps we’re not meant to. During those times when there’s really no action to take, we have to go to God in prayer.

And the truth is, sometimes it feels like prayer is not enough. That’s when you have to surrender and rely on God. It’s so, so hard to do!

Even if we want God to take over, to take the wheel, we usually then want to climb right back into the driver’s seat. Because we feel like we need to take action. We need to do something…anything! But we can’t. We have to sit in the back seat and TRUST.

While this is frustrating for the action-oriented person, we also need to look for signs that God’s got this. And believe me, those signs are there.

LOOK FOR GOD-SIGNS: HE’S THERE

Recently, my family and I have been going through a tough situation. And it was hitting me hard, but there wasn’t much I could do to change what was happening. Decisions were being made that I wasn’t sure I agreed with, but again, it wasn’t anything I could do or fix. So, I kept pressing on with my normal life routines. I went to my usual water aerobics class. And while I was drying off after a good class, I was chatting with one of the lifeguards. When I say “lifeguard” don’t go all “Baywatch” on me. This is an older lifeguard, who is friendly, and kind, and we always say hello to each other when I’m there.

As we were talking a bit, he finally cocked his head sideways and gave me a long look. And asked one more time how I was really doing. As much as I tried to dodge and deflect, it wasn’t going to happen. I found myself blurting out what was going on. The tears came and everything spilled out. If you know me well, you know I tend to be private. My whole life is not on Facebook. So, yeah, I was a little surprised at this. After I talked, my friend acknowledged the difficulty of the situation and asked if we could pray. Right there. By the side of the pool. With me still wet from the class. I said yes.

So, we prayed. In those few moments, I felt peace and calm. I knew that God had control of the situation and all would be okay. I only needed to trust. I needed to keep trusting, and let God take the wheel.

PRAY FOR WISDOM

When life hits hard, we need to know if we are trying to take action when we shouldn’t. Are we praying for wisdom to know what action to take or what action not to take? It’s hard. I wish I had an answer for how you can really trust Jesus to take the wheel. All I know is to pray, and to look for God moments, like unexpected compassion and prayer time by the side of a swimming pool. A sweet reminder that God is there, and I only need to trust in Him.

YOUR TURN

How do you trust God in difficult times?

Let’s encourage one another.