Trust & Eve & You

After God started showing up in my closet and in my kitchen (if that doesn't make any sense to you, you are late in the conversation; read the blogpost before this and catch up) and in my car and on the phone with friends, I began to hear nagging doubts in the caves of my mind. "God is this really You?" "Am I crazy?" "How do I know this is You and not me?"

As soon as I would let my mind swirl with these questions, a paralyzing fear began to creep at the door of my heart. I knew these were not from the same God I had come to meet-up with daily. I knew I wasn't the same unsure me I was months ago, weeks ago, days--even hours ago. I looked at the fruit of God in my life--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control all none of which I could produce on my own--and how my home and those around me seemed to be changed by the very presence of God in my life. And these questions didn't stem from a heart on fire, but from someplace else.

The subtle way Eve was conned into giving up all Eden and closeness with God, completely unashamed in who He made her to be, was to attack her trust in Him.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:1-6, emphasis added)

The doubt thoughts that would grip me came subtle and I would be stuck on doubts instead of looking to Jesus--to see Him above the waves like Peter on the water in Matthew 14:22-32. So with the new authority that had arisen in me I tossed them out of my mind and allowed God to fill those coves of uncertainty with Himself instead.

Our mistrust in God and all that He has said in His Word puts us in a position to allow mistrust of God to permeate not only our lives but the lives of others around us too. To go back and forth on a rollercoaster of trust and doubt is not the thrill seeking ride you enjoy at a fair. It is immobilizing.

I was reading my She Reads Truth devotional on Emmanuel--which happened to be on trust today!--and it was on Zechariah, and how he was muted by the angel Gabriel because he didn't believe what the angel had told him (that his wife Elizabeth would have a son in her old age and all the wonderful things this son would do and become). The devotional went on to discuss why such the harsh consequence for Zechariah, a priest of the Lord: "with great power comes great responsibility" and "Like any relationship, distrust whittles away a bond over time."

Our enemy seeks to render us useless in God's hands because of our unbelief. And it's no wonder! Can you imagine a people completely abandoned in the hands of the One Who made them, unshaken and secure in their unrelenting trust in Him? That must be an incredible sight! Orphans wouldn't go without a loving home, broken relationships could be mended, victims could be rescued and the voiceless would have a voice.

You see while you are stuck on the rollercoaster going up and down and round and round God and the rest of the world is waiting for you to stop and move on, to step out and trust--because you are needed. Yes, you! And you may even have a hard time believing that but get off the ride already! We're all waiting! You see, if your enemy can get you to mistrust the God Who made you--you are already defeated. There wasn't even a battle to fight, because who wants to fight for a King who can't be trusted? Nobody does. They stay home and watch Netflix all night because they believe that's as good as it gets. (Please don't misread me, I like Netflix, really. But if anything like that is your end-all to end-all you just need to wake up.)

God can be trusted. And He's choosing you to trust His Kingdom with. But He's looking for a people who, with abandon, will lavish all their trust on Him. We can't afford not to trust Him at His word. Our very salvation depends on putting our faith in Him. He alone is truly trustworthy! Will you put your faith in Him today? He is able to do all that He says. We can trust our God, our Maker. He is a good Father.