Trusting God When It Isn't Easy

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6

I'll never forget the day I was let go from what was, at the time, my dream job. My boss came into my office, shut the door and as kindly as he could, let me know that my contract was being terminated. I had one more month before I would have to find a different job. He ensured me I had done nothing wrong, and that I had always been an exceptional employee. The decision was made above his head, but none of that made me feel better. Before I could say anything, the tears started falling. 

I felt confused, frustrated, hurt, angry...you name it, I felt it. I kept crying the whole way home, and all I could do was ask God, “Why?”. I was so confident that He had put me in this position for a reason. He had given me the skills to do this job well. He had given me influence and the opportunity to make a difference. So why was He taking something away that He had given me so graciously? None of it made any sense. 

Weeks went by before I came to grips with the fact that God had to have had a reason to shut this door, or more like slam it. I still didn’t understand why, but He was helping me learn to trust Him regardless. 

It’s like when you were a little kid and you asked your parents for something and they'd tell you no, but they wouldn't give you a reason why they were saying no. You'd get annoyed and frustrated and probably pitch a fit because you just wanted to know why you couldn’t have what you wanted. But that didn’t make a difference, because they knew even if they told you why, you still wouldn’t understand. 

It's no different with our Heavenly Father. He does the exact same thing as a parent. He knows we won’t always understand why He does the things He does, but He asks us to trust Him anyways. However, you and I both know that’s way easier said than done. 

I’m sure you’ve felt this way before. Maybe, like me, you felt like you’d landed your dream job, only to go to work one day and get let go out of nowhere. Maybe you were an athlete with incredible talent, only to have a major injury rob you of your ability to play the game you love. Or maybe you were in a relationship where you thought he was “the one,” only to realize things between the two of you weren’t going to work out after all.

We’ve all had this feeling in some way, shape, or form. We believe God has given us something or called us to something, and then all of a sudden that gift, that dream, that person is taken away from us. It’s a confusing place to be, but you don’t have to stay confused. Our God is a God you can be confident in, a God you can trust wholeheartedly. Even if your life seems to be spiraling out of control, He is still in complete control. Nothing that happens to you ever catches Him by surprise. 

I don’t know about you, but when things don’t seem to be going my way, when I realize I can’t control my circumstances, I like to know that there’s someone in my corner I can trust. Dealing with hard times is bad enough, but dealing with hard times alone is even worse.

So why don’t we start trusting the One who promises to never leave us? Who promises that He has a purpose and a plan for our lives? And who promises to work all things together for the good of those who love Him? I can't promise that you'll ever have all the answers, or that you'll fully understand why certain things happen to you. But I can promise you that you'll never, ever regret trusting your Heavenly Father along the way.