Trusting in God
Written By: Jean-Paul Ford •
Have you ever questioned the things that God has done in your life? Or have you ever felt that God has abandoned you? Well I have felt that sometimes I was not able to trust him in previous situations. I think I felt that way because of previous experiences with the Lord. There were times when I would ask him for this and that. Eventually I would get frustrated because I did not get what I asked him for or if he did not do what I had prayed and prayed about.
Then I realized that we do not always get everything that we ask for or want in life. We get what we need and what will be best for us. So, I began to think about what I asked God for, and if it was best for me. I then realized there were some things that were not important and were not necessities for me to succeed in life. Those things were things such as me wanting to get the newest products or wanting to go places, but everything happens for a reason. So, what if I were not able to go where I wanted to, because God knew if I went, something would have happened that would have changed my life for the worst.
“Everything happens for a reason” is what we all say, but what if the path we decided not to take could have been better for us. What I think is, the path we take is not always what will be best for us because we have the privilege of free will. What we decide will either be the path that God is showing to us or the path that we choose because we think “Well I have tried asking God before, but he didn’t answer my prayer.” Usually the problem is that we did not wait for God to respond, we tend to want things right away. Although we want those things right away, God gives them to us when we need them and that is if we need them. As Pastor Johnson says, “He’s an on-time God.”The biggest thing that impacted my faith and trust in God was when my Dad passed. This took a huge toll on my life, especially because it happened at such a young age for me, being 10 years old. When he passed, I could not seem to bring myself to trust God. I felt this; because I would wonder, why did this happen to me, and our family? What did we do to deserve this pain? But with the help of my grandmother and my mom, they helped me to understand that it might not have been something that we did to make this happen. Sometimes, we just do not know the reason why things happen and often we never will. That is why the right thing to do is to trust in God. Now, I have finally gained the knowledge and strength to trust in him and know that he does everything for a reason. Even though bad things happen in our life, we still need to keep our faith in him and trust him. Now, today when I ask God for things, I think, “Will this be beneficial in my life? Will it help me in this situation, and is it something that I need?” No matter how long it takes, I try to keep my faith in him and be patient with him because he is an on-time God! “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6