Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
April 17, 2023
This Week's Anchor
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NKJV)
Growth…beautiful, messy growth. If only our lives unfolded in perfectly linear and predictable ways, oh, how easy things would be. But that’s just not how our lives or God work. Nothing is perfect. Little is linear. And even the most intuitive and prophetic believers have limitations in their predictions. Many of us find ourselves in moments in our lives that just don’t make sense. And being the analytical creatures we are, we desperately try to make things make sense. Yet, our anchor scripture this week calls us into a sobering truth.
This passage in Proverbs is another commonly quoted scripture. This scripture commands us to “Trust in the Lord.” To trust in God is to wholly rely on Him. When we trust God, we await His commitment and promises in confident expectation, and we surrender the authority of our lives to Him. This scripture not only tells us to trust God, but it challenges us to do so with all our heart—not half, not some, but ALL. Our humanness will waver in faith because our flesh is weak. Our flesh will doubt and worry about our next steps and our future, but our spirits and our hearts can be strong. Even when you are afraid, do you believe in your heart? At the end of your day, when you rest at night, do you leave your cares to God?
This verse goes on to caution us to “lean not on our own understanding”. I hate to break it to you, but our understanding is incomplete. It’s limited to our view and vantage point. It’s skewed by our perceptions. It’s biased to our experiences. And it’s altered by our thoughts and emotions. Even as a psychologist with the gift (and curse) of being incredibly perceiving, I can assure you that my and our understanding just isn’t enough. Hence, the second part of this scripture reminds us to acknowledge Him and have confidence that He will direct our paths.
Do you really trust you to direct yourself? Because I sure don’t. If the fate of my life were left up to me, I’d be on a hot mess express to a destination of chaos. Understandably, we are often concerned about the direction we are heading. However, it matters less where we are going, but more importantly who is leading us.
So, how can we have faith in God and His process for our lives: TRUST!
Turn Toward God—Oftentimes when we are in seasons of decreased faith, we look up and suddenly realize that we are running away from God. Doubt inadvertently distances us from God. It makes us feel scared, isolated, and alone, and our instinct is often to push God away. But despite everything our human brain tells us, a closer relationship with the Holy Trinity is actually the cure for our concerns.
Remember & Release—Much of our distress and worry is connected to our human weakness of easily forgetting. What better way to grow our faith in God than to simply remember what He has already done for us and for those we love? When we intentionally engage in a process of connecting with gratitude through remembering, we can more easily release our desires and longings to God.
Undertake a Commitment to God’s Word—God’s Word has countless scriptures and affirmations that counteract worry and doubt. It’s not just the words on the pages that matter, but God’s Word is living. When we intentionally read the Word, the Holy Trinity speaks to us. God’s words give life and restore, renew, and replenish our faith.
Share Your Challenges with Trusting—We often feel guilty for wavering in our faith. A former pastor of mine used to frequently say, “God can’t heal what you won’t reveal.” One antidote to self-shaming is sharing. As opposed to being silently ashamed of your worries and fears, share them with God, yourself, and others. Allow God and others to encourage and affirm you and His purpose for you.
Take it From the Top & Repeat—We don’t simply arrive (nor easily remain) at trusting. It’s a lifelong journey. We must consistently challenge ourselves to come back to our trust and faith in God and the process of our purpose.
We’ll all enter seasons that feel like aimless wandering—seasons that are painful and challenging, and/or feel lonely and frightening. Even desired blessings can come with struggle as we adjust and grow through transitions from one chapter to the next. Come what may, we aren’t in control—God is. He’s got every ounce of our lives in His careful and intentional hands. Instead of fighting the process God has you in, surrender to it. May we trust Him and His purpose for our lives today!
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What gets in the way of you trusting God’s process and what do you need from the Holy Trinity to help strengthen your faith?
What intention(s) do you want to set to connect and/or reconnect with being grounded this week?
Related Scriptures to Ground You Through this Week
Joshua 1:9
Psalm 9:10
Psalm 37:1-7
Isaiah 41:10
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Matthew 6:25-34
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
“The path to your success is not as fixed and inflexible as you think.”
Misty Copeland
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