Choosing Trust Over Certainty
It's natural to feel uncertain and vulnerable at times. We can't control everything that happens in our lives, as much as we’d like to. However, it's important to remember that we are not alone and that we can find peace and joy in trusting in a good and sovereign God who loves us deeply.
Today, I hope that this devotional can bring you more peace as we look at Scripture and are reminded that the Father is the one who is in control, but he is not controlling.
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When was a time you tried to take control of a situation in your life, only to have things turn out for the worse as a result (more difficult, more complicated, etc.)? How might you respond differently knowing what you know now?
What are some ways you have found yourself attempting to hide from God? What lie might you be believing that is leading you to respond that way?
In what ways have you seen God lovingly pursuing you throughout your life, even in the midst of sin, shame, and fear? (Through a person, a circumstance, scripture, a church service, nature, a song, an experience?) Where might God be pursuing you that you are not aware? Thank God for those places and ask him for a greater sense of awareness of his pursuit. Ask him how you might respond with trust and obedience this week.
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Do you struggle sometimes with the uncertainty of life? We don’t really know what could happen tomorrow. The future is uncertain even though we try so hard to control it. We don’t have the authority over everything, even though we wish we did.
Today, we have access to a massive amount of information, but we still can’t control all our circumstances, how other people behave, nor everything that happens in our lives. Let’s face it. That makes us feel vulnerable and sometimes uncertain. None of us like that.
Today, my devotional is to help us grow a deeper peace in our hearts as we look at Scripture and be reminded that we are not alone. This is a challenge for all of us. Some of us are control freaks. But there is a better way to live our lives, so we’re not blinded by this desire for control and a craving for certainty. We know these things create more chaos for us.
Ironically, we experience more freedom and a deeper joy when we release our desire for control to the one who has all control but is not controlling—the good and sovereign God who is above it all and loves us dearly.
I want to take us back to that place in Genesis 3, to the story when God created humanity. He gave humanity a beautiful place to live with all of their needs taken care of. He gave humanity authority to care for his creation. It says, “To rule and subdue, but not to control one another.” Then he gave them one rule, which was to be free to eat from any tree of the garden, but not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day they ate of it, they would certainly die.
That seems pretty straightforward to me, but Adam and Eve broke that one rule. A serpent deceived Eve. He lied to her and said to her, “No. You will not die.” He basically challenges the very words of God. Eve believes the serpent instead of trusting God. She believed that if she ate the fruit, she would become like God, even though she and Adam were already made in the image of God.
They sought to increase their control rather than to remain dependent on God’s provision. Eve ate the fruit and gave some to her husband, and for the first time, they experienced shame. They used to walk in the garden naked. The weather must’ve been perfect. I’m thinking 82 degrees.
But still, they experienced no shame and no fear. But after they disobeyed God, they hid from God and made clothes from leaves to cover up their bodies. Then they turned on each other, choosing to blame instead of reflecting on their actions and asking God to help them.
What was God’s response? Let me read to us from this very short line in verse 9. “So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” I have to hear that. “Where are you?” Isn’t that wonderful? I love this. God knows our hearts. He knew what would happen in their disobedience. They hide. He comes looking for them. He always does. God is faithful.
When we act out of our own craving for control, when we take matters into our own hands, we often make a mess. We manipulate people. We force circumstances. We fiddle with the things of this world. We try to use our knowledge and all of our abilities to make things work out our way, don’t we?
We might get some things right, yes. But often, we make a bigger mess. When we do, we have a loving God who comes and pursues after us. He doesn’t leave us there in our mucky situation. This is why Jesus came into the world.
Not only to come close to use to be with us but also to save us from shame and give us a new life. And he modeled for us how we can be obedient and dependent on a good, loving Father. He showed us what’s possible when we trust God with everything, including our vulnerability and even our worst suffering.
If you think about it, Jesus shows us that obedience to our heavenly Father is the best way to deal with our anxieties and our fears about the future. When he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told the Father, “Not my will, but your will be done.” Jesus was willing, as Paul says, even to the point of a shameful death on a cross. That’s how much Jesus believed and trusted the good, good Father.
By his example, you and I can believe and trust that God is good even when we feel uncertain about our situation, even when we feel insecure or vulnerable, even when every cell in our body is screaming to take matters in our own hands. Even in those moments, we can trust. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can say no to our cravings and yes to our loving God.
We can remember we have a God who is sovereign over all, and he walks with us in every single circumstance: good and bad. He’s always walking with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. It’s a promise that he gives us.
As you can see in Genesis 3, God pursued Adam when they disobeyed. God doesn’t change. So, of course, he pursues you and me. We can live by his unlimited wisdom. As much as we know, we don’t know everything. We don’t love perfectly. We’re not as good as we like to be. We’re not as reliable. We can’t live forever. There’s so much we have so little control over.
But I’m saying this again. We have to remember this. He has control over everything, and he’s not controlling. He’s generous, he’s kind, he’s gentle, he’s patient, and loving always. That gives me a great deal of peace to take a deep breath…take it with me…and trust whatever is worrying you today to him.
If you feel overwhelmed with fears of the future, fears about the unknown, or you’re frustrated because things are happening the way you expected, rest. Rest in giving that thing, that person, that situation, or concern to the Lord.
I, too, have to practice this daily. In a way, we’re always in the garden like Adam and Eve, with a choice before us to either trust God or trust ourselves or this world. Choosing him is always the better choice. James tells us if we ever lack wisdom, we can ask God because he’s always eager to give us wisdom. Those places where we feel stressed, we can always come to him.
So today, let’s take a moment to pray and, first of all, to thank God for pursuing us. If we feel distant, we can always ask God to open our minds and our hearts to feel his presence because he’s always near us.
Also, let’s pray for one another because we need each other, that we would be self-aware of our tendency to want to control or blame each other or hide in shame. Let’s encourage one another with the truth. We are free in Christ. Nothing can change that. We can be vulnerable to one another and to him, who was vulnerable for us. He is trustworthy always. Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for your beautiful example of this story that reminds us how much you pursue us, how much you love us. We confess that we want to control our circumstances, God, and we make a mess. We want to give to you whatever it is in our hearts that is burdening us today. We ask, Lord, that you would return to our hearts your peace.
We thank you, Lord, for this really good reminder that we all need on a daily basis. Thank you for your love, and we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Thank you so much for joining me for this week’s devotional. I pray that the peace and grace of Jesus Christ be with you today and all week long. God bless you.
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