For many, this year has been a challenge, to say the least. It is as if someone began playing the game Jumanji with all of our lives and out of nowhere we saw a pandemic, recession, record-setting hurricane season among other events.
For most of us, we learned two important facts; we actually need interaction with others, and that the world’s supply of toilet paper is far more vulnerable to shortages than we once believed.
It’s clear that we are all ready for a reset. There is nothing more soothing than starting afresh and nothing more uplifting that beginning again. We are only weeks away from our new beginning.
As we begin anew lets aim to “Trust in the God of New beginnings.”
Yes, this is something that we all hear and know, but have we really taken the time to consider how hard that truly is? How much energy it takes to simply silence the noise in our heads and all around us to build Trust in God?
The level of focus required to truly believe with all of our hearts can be thought of as a trust-fall. For years, I have been trying to master the Trust-fall into Moses’ (my husband) arms, I am still not there yet. Everytime I lean back, I imagine hitting the ground and instantly doubt and break my fall, even though I know that he will not let me fall. Even more so, my loving Heavenly Father will not allow me to fall.
The only people that I find that so easily trust in others are children. Maybe this is why Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (NIV). The amount of trust it takes to truly believe in God and heaven is so great but surprisingly the smallest among us possess it.
Also, in one of my favorite Psalms; Psalms 23, David likens God to a shepherd. He reminds us that if God is watching over us, He will ensure that our needs are met. He will protect and comfort those that are His. No where in those verses does it mention that the sheep worry about any aspect of life, they are wise enough to know it is the Shepherd’s job to take care of them.
In several other verses throughout the Bible, God is also likened to a shepherd.
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:11 (NIV)
Truly trusting in God, not just with words but in heart and action, is something that takes effort on our part. I have recently begun to devote time in the mornings to listen to morning devotionals on YouTube. As I eat breakfast, I sit and meditate on scriptures. And as you might guess, days that I do this tend to go better than days that I don’t.
On many occasions the devotional topics are things that we may “already know” but I feel there is value not only in rehearing but meditating and starting the day with those thoughts in mind. A common theme is trusting in God, and maybe those Youtube videos are what may have subconsciously led me to encourage you to begin developing your trust in God as the New Year approaches.
In this new beginning, we must take the sayings that we are “Children of God” and that God is “The Good Shepherd” seriously. We must actively seek to develop our trust in him. There is also a saying “With Christ in the vessel, we will smile at the storm,” meaning that despite whatever we face, complete trust in God can allow us to view even the most turbulent of times with optimism and hope.