Wholly Trust
Hello and welcome to Wifey Wednesdays, a podcast for women who are seeking to be the best wives they can be. I’m your host, Emily Hatfield, and this is the show where the plan is to do things God’s way, especially our marriages.
On today’s episode, we’re going to be looking at what it means to wholly trust in the Lord. After all, that’s the command, right? Proverbs 3:5 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
This is what we want, right? Straight paths. I don’t want a curvy detour on my way toward heaven. I’d like a straight, clear, clean, way.
Now, that’s not typically how it goes. And I don’t think that’s what’s even being promised here. Maybe the path toward Him will be straight, but that doesn’t mean it’s without hills or valleys. There may be paths that are straight….straight up a steep incline or straight down a rocky cliff. But will I trust God through those moments? That’s the thing we’re aiming for today. So we’re going to look at a few examples of faith throughout scripture and apply the things we can learn from them to our lives.
First, let’s look at someone who had great and quite relatable trust in the Lord - Peter.
Peter is the only one of the disciples who is willing to step out of the boat and walk on water toward Jesus. That’s trust. Peter said, Lord if it’s you - call me to you. Even though he was afraid of what everyone else was calling a ghost, Peter knew that if the Lord’s voice called Him, he should go.
There are a lot of scary things in the world - scary things we have to go through - scary moments we’re faced with that we were not expecting. Maybe we were expecting smooth sailing, but instead - it’s storm tossed and lightning filled. In those moments, will we be listening for the voice of the Lord, or will we be struggling against the waves or paralyzed by fear? Peter was willing, despite his fear, to listen to the Lord and to move toward Him. Now, sure, as he’s going…he gets distracted by all that’s going on around him. But in that moment of distraction, Jesus is there. He upholds him. He protects him. He rescues him. And while Jesus says - you of little faith - it always amazes me what God can do with a little faith. Didn’t Jesus say that faith the size of a mustard seed could do incredible things? What little faith Peter did have, he placed in Jesus. And Jesus delivered. Through the storm - He protected. He was there, in the storm, His presence giving assurance and peace.
This is what we must do. Life is going to be filled with storms. Many mountains and valleys may lie ahead on our path. Will we be listening for the voice of the Lord, or will we be distracted by the storm - paralyzed by the things around us instead of comforted by the One within us who is greater than the one in the world, making all the noise.
Peter had trust that Jesus could save him. He had trust that Jesus would allow him to come to him, even if that meant walking on water — which, who does that?! But Peter got to do that, because he just wanted to be where Jesus was and he trusted that Jesus wanted him there, too.
God wants us to be close to Him. Draw near to me, He urges. And we can trust that the One who has never failed on a promise will be with us every single step of the way as we come to Him. Even if the path to Him is over water — turns out, He can walk on that and He can carry us safely through that, too. Lean on Him. Trust in Him. Allow Him to lead you through whatever hardship or scary situation. Reach out to Him and know, with full assurance, that He is going to be there as a rock to steady you and shield you and protect you.
But another person who fully trusted in the Lord was Abraham. Now, his faith and trust in the Lord is a little less relatable to me, but mostly because he doesn’t waiver. I find myself in Peter situations often - trusting, then becoming afraid, then kind of backing out…but Abraham, he has full trust in God to work out things according to His plan, even if that doesn’t make any amount of sense to Abraham.
When God tells Abraham to offer Isaac…Abraham has never seen someone raised from the dead. And yet - Hebrews tells us that he considered that God could raise him from the dead because, if the promise was gonna come through Isaac, then that must be God’s plan for how to work out this situation. And so he considered that God was able to do something beyond his limited understanding.
That’s amazing trust. And that’s the level I’m aspiring to. To be able to rest fully in the knowledge of God’s abundant care and all-seeing eye and ever-working providence and to know that He’s got this. Whatever it is. Even if it seems like there’s no way out for me and my limited understanding…that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way. God has always been in the business of making a way where there wasn’t one. He made a way in the Red Sea when the Israelites were seemingly trapped. He made a way for them to live in the wilderness when there was no water to be found. He made a way through the Jordan on their way back into the promised land. Even before that, He made a way through the blood of the lamb so that the angel would pass over their houses. And He’s made a way through His Son for us to have our sins forgiven.
I wouldn’t have foreseen any of that. I couldn’t have dreamed that up. But God has always made a way. He made a way for the people to conquer Jericho by simply marching. He made a way for David to defeat a giant with just a stone. He made a way for His people to escape from the Assyrians with an angel coming and killing nearly 200,000 of them.
Will He not make a way for us? Is He not capable of seeing us through?
I have to trust that He can do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think. Even if I’m faced with a huge storm - He can either calm it or walk on top of the choppy seas to get to me. If I’m faced with a huge fire - He can either extinguish it or join me in it and save me through it. No matter what I face in this life, it isn’t bigger than God. It isn’t so overwhelming that He cannot find me a way of escape; it isn’t so big that He cannot overpower it. Nothing that I face in this life is bigger or stronger than God. I have to trust that if I’ve been brought to it that I will be brought through it. Maybe it won’t look like I thought, but I’m sure Peter didn’t expect walking on water and I’m sure Abraham didn’t expect to be asked to offer Isaac. In all of my unknowns, may I trust that nothing is unknown to God, and He leads me from a place of all knowledge and understanding and wisdom. Even though the night is dark and I cannot see, darkness isn’t dark to Him. Even though the path is hidden and I’m unsure how I’m going to get to the other side, He can make paths where there don’t seem to be any. On the sea, through the sea - He can make a way. And He will! He promises to never leave me or forsake me. He will be with me through whatever hardship is coming my way. He can be with me on every mountaintop and every valley. There is nowhere I can go where His almighty hand will not steady me and uphold me and hide me.
Let’s trust that no matter what, He’s there. He’s got us. It may seem like too much to handle, and on our own it probably is. But with God, all things are possible. Every situation is endurable, because He is more powerful than whatever circumstance I face.
May we learn to wholly trust in the Lord. He is the only One who has never lied - who has always been there - who has always fulfilled every promise. We can depend on Him. We can rest in His provision. We can trust His timing and His care and His guidance. He sees the end from the beginning, so why would I try to be the guide in my life when He is the only one able to see all of the obstacles and all of the ways of escape? Let’s fully and completely trust Him so that, when the hard moments of the path come, He has control of our hearts and is able to call out to us and we hear, and we let our Good Shepherd’s voice lead us to the still waters that will restore our souls.
I am so thankful to serve a God who loves me so much. I’m so thankful that my trust in Him has never been misplaced. I’m so thankful for every assurance He gives; I’m thankful that He’s never tired of reassuring me when I have little faith…instead, that He gently and patiently leads me along and cares for me in every situation.
May we fully trust in our God today, and may we praise Him for every way He’s proven He’s trustworthy in the past.
Thanks for being with me for this episode, and I hope you’ll join me next time as we discuss what it means to be wholly connected. Thanks again for listening and until next time remember - love God, love your husband.
