Trust

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
Matthew 6:31-32 ESV

If you have been around Christianity for any length of time, then I have no doubt that you have heard someone somewhere use the phrase, "You just have to trust God." But have you ever stopped and given any real thought as to why God wants our trust? I can tell you from experience it isn't because He wants you to have less stress in your life, although, having less stress and anxiety can be a byproduct of a trusting faith in God. 

In the passage above, Jesus gives us a very slight glimpse into why trusting God is crucial to our spiritual journey when He said for us not to be "anxious" (another word for worry) about the things we are going to eat or what we are going to wear (ladies, that one is for you) or what we will drink. He goes on to tell us that this is what the "Gentiles" do. Another word for Gentiles is "pagans" depending on the translation you might read. But I like pagan because it truly shows that they are non believers. They are people who have no knowledge of God or what He can do in our lives. For all they know, they are simply a spec placed on a dirt formed ball floating aimlessly through space with no purpose other than to live and to die. And if that is all you have to live for, no wonder there is worry and stress. 

But my God is sovereign. He set this planet and all the rest of them in motion. And He put life in my body and set my feet on the solid ground. God is fully capable and fully deserving of management of my life and yours too. He is in charge before, now, and in the hereafter. When I reject the Father's love by rejecting the fact that He is sovereign, I live as God Himself doesn't exist. In that moment, I am really no different than the "pagans" Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6. 

My friend, God calls us to be different than the world and that all starts with placing our trust in Him and His power in ALL things. We can't keep our hands closed tightly around our life and try to steer the ship. It won't work. We will only see breakthrough and feel true relief when we allow God total and unconditional control over our lives. In short, we have to trust Him.