Faith, Trust, and Walking with God – My Tuesday Three

This life can be extremely challenging. Trials and pain, and even just the business of all that we must accomplish, cause us to worry and fret when what we need to do is trust that God is in control. He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but still we find it hard to really trust.

I have discovered that I must truly trust in Him for My Tuesday Three post. I get so busy that it comes to Monday and I have no idea what to write — again! I was busy with work, not feeling well, and my sister coming to visit. (That last part was actually really awesome, but still took time away from searching for posts to showcase for My Tuesday Three). But God is faithful and led me to three posts in the span of about 20 minutes that all focused on putting our trust in Him completely.

The first post that I want to showcase is titled “Faith? Just Go to the Store” by Pastor A.C. Baker over at The Recovering Legalist. This post includes an awesome story of real and complete faith. Pr. Baker writes about visiting a family in Romania in the early 1990s and how they would bring out all the food they had to share with their American visitors, even though that meant they had nothing left for the following day. When the Americans protested that the Romanians didn’t understand that they needed to save food for tomorrow, this was the answer they received from a teenage girl:

“No, YOU don’t understand” the young girl said with almost a sad look on her face. “Don’t worry about us, because when this food is gone, there will be more. . . . [God] brought us food for yesterday and today, and He will take care of tomorrow.”

How many of us here in America have such faith? We store away money in our retirement accounts and pay insurance premiums in case of disaster tomorrow or next year, instead of sharing it with others in need. We trust God to a point, but compared to this young Romanian girl and her family, our faith is miniscule indeed. Their story is proof that faith in God does pay off and He is faithful to provide for those who trust.

The second post that I want to showcase is titled “Time to get out of the boat?” by Ann over at Tonirand’s Blog. This post is inspired by Matthew 14:24-33, which is the story of when Jesus walks on water towards the disciples in the boat, and Peter steps out of the boat towards Him. Ann has gleaned five wonderful truths from this passage, the first of which is this:

The boat has a purpose. Make sure you’re using it for the right reasons. Don’t expect the boat to become what it was not intended to be. In a storm, the boat is as vulnerable as you are – it cannot save you.  Place your trust only in Him.

I highly recommend you check out the other points, all of which emphasize the importance of Jesus in relationship to the boats and storms of our lives. As a special bonus, Ann links to three other wonderful posts to encourage you as you step out of the boat and into the grace of Christ. You will also be blessed by Ann’s beautiful closing prayer.

The third post that I want to showcase is titled “Life, Life, Life” by April over at April’s Faith Thoughts. April’s family has been facing some huge challenges lately, including the death of a very close friend. But in the midst of it she encourages us to walk with God through all the ups and downs of life.

Some days it is best to take it all one step at a time and one day at a time. In these moments it is even more important to embrace our hand in the hand of God. It is from Him, where we draw our strength. Living life abundantly means being carved more into His image and into more of His perfection. 

Putting our trust and faith in God alone does not mean that every day will be easy. But our Lord does desire for us to live an abundant spiritual life. He does not desire for us to go hungry or to be alone in the cold storms of life. I’d like to close with two verses of a Psalm that sums up the wonderful messages of faith, trust, and walking with God that these three bloggers have offered.

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
   a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name will trust in you,
   for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:9-10 (NIV).