Maybe It's Time To Trust What You Believe
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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
This past week, my newspaper column for The Daily Chief Union Newspaper was titled “Maybe It’s Time to Stop.” I have included the column at the end of this blog. I talked about that it was time to stop some of the behaviors that affect us emotionally and keep us from living fully into life. As I have reflected on those words, my thoughts have gone to what I say and believe, and do I really trust what I believe when faced with the trials of life? God revealed several things to me on my morning run.
First, we say we believe. Belief is what we accept as true. We make statements about our faith that we know are true, but do we really trust what we believe especially when life gets hard, and we experience loss, struggles, and the uncertainties of life? Are we trusting God even when life goes in a totally different path and unexpected events happen that leave us speechless and uncertain?
Trust is having a bold confidence. It is a secure reliance on God’s faithfulness and His promises. It is relying on God’s guidance and strength. When we say, “I trust God” it means I surrender to God’s guidance and am dependent on God for each step of life. It is believing God is always God and God is always faithful.
Maybe it is time to trust that God truly loves you and is always with you. No doubt, no question, no debate. There is nothing you can do to lose God’s love for you. You are God’s child. God loves you unconditionally. God’s love has no strings attached. You cannot earn it nor do you deserve it. God just loves you. There is never a time God is not with you even when you do not feel His presence. There is never a time God does not love you.
Maybe it is time to trust that grace is free. Grace is a free gift. It is given abundantly and never runs out. You cannot do anything to receive it except to accept it. God’s grace is sufficient and can meet all your needs. It is only in our weakness that God’s strength is revealed.
Maybe it’s time to trust that you are forgiven and live forgiven. You cannot make up for your past and do enough to make yourself right with God. Forgiveness is given through Jesus’s death on the cross for your sins. We are forgiven. It is time to trust and to let go of the past sins and live fully in God’s grace. Stop beating yourself up and think you are not doing enough and are not enough.
Maybe it’s time to trust God with all of your life not just parts of it. We pray and then step away to worry about what we just prayed about. God wants to be in everything, in every aspect of our lives. Every moment is a God moment. God is with us in our grief. God does not take us out of the sadness and sorrow but walks with us through it. We may think, “I should be stronger if I truly believed.” God does not require our strength because He gives to us His strength.
Maybe it is time to trust God each moment. Trusting God does not mean you understand everything or why something happened. Trusting God does not even mean you like what is going on. Trusting means that you believe God is in control and that life does not have to be on your terms or expectations.
Trusting God means you live what you say you believe. God loves you. God is with you. God wants you to surrender every moment to Him and walk in faith and trust. Maybe it’s time to live what you believe. Live in the moment in God’s love and grace. God has you. Trust Him!
Elaine J. Sturtz
My Newspaper Column in The Daily Chief Union Newspaper – Upper Sandusky, OH
Maybe It’s Time To Stop
There are many habits and addictions that people know are unhealthy. It is difficult to make a change and stop these habits and addictions. When addictions are mentioned, the usual ones are listed like drinking, smoking, gambling, overeating, and drugs. Let’s talk about some behaviors that affect our mental and emotional health that maybe it is time to stop doing, too.
For instance, maybe it is time to stop carrying the weight of things that were never meant to live in your heart like the wrongs other have done to you and the burdens of your past. Maybe it is time to release them and forgive yourself and others. Your focus has been the hurts of life which has prevented you from living in the present. It is time to give yourself the freedom to break the chains of your past. You cannot change the past nor those who caused the hurt and pain. Set yourself free from the prison of your past.
Maybe it is time to stop seeking the approval of others and worrying about the opinions of others and just live life. Stop comparing yourself to others. You were created to be who you are and to have the gifts and talents that were given to you. You are the only one like you. Other people will have different opinions, but your life is yours. Your worth is not based on what others think. Your life is not a performance for others. You were not made to follow what they want you to do. It is time for you to be you.
Stop waiting for permission to live. Live now. You are waiting until life gets easier. You have more money. You feel better. You lose the weight. You have a partner. And the list goes on and on. You are the only one that can live your life. Stop waiting and start living. Life is hard and the struggles are real. Learn to live through them. Seek help and look for hope.
Maybe it’s time to stop holding on to everything that does not really matter and embrace everything that has value and worth. Sometimes people hold so tightly to possessions and the past and how things used to be that they do not live now. You cannot change the past nor can you recreate it. You can celebrate the past and share the memories. Focus on what has meaning not the trivial things of life.
Maybe it’s time to stop spending time on decisions that are not yours to make. You fret and worry about things that you cannot change or try to develop a plan for someone else’s life and how they can make their lives better. You spend all your time focused on things you cannot change or influence and therefore, do not live the life you have in front of you.
Stop basing your life on what you own and believing happiness is having more toys and the latest and most popular items. Happiness is not found in things but in relationships and in the adventures and experiences of life. Stuff will consume you and hold you down. You just spend your time taking care of it.
Stop waiting to live and live in front of you. Find people who enhance your life. Let go of what is draining the life out of you, and find what fills you up and enhances your life.
Elaine’s website – www.livinginthedifferent.com
Elaine J. Sturtz
Living In The Different
