When You Don't Feel Like Trusting

In light of what I just shared about God teaching me to trust him (see here), can you guess what this past Sunday's sermon was on?  Trust!

This is part 2 of 3 for this sermon series, Trusting God in Hard Times.

This sermon is entitled When You Don't Feel Like Trusting.  Here are my sermon notes:

"Trust in God at all times, my people.  Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge."  Psalm 62:8 (NIV)

1.  Remember that trust is not an emotion.

     It's an action!  It's a choice!

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."  John 14:1 (NIV)

When we feel off, it could be a physical problem, an emotional problem, or a spiritual problem.

First check the physical.  (Do you need sleep?  Is there a medical issue needing attention?  Do you need food, drink, etc.?)

Then check the emotional.  (Do you need to repair relationships?)

Then check the spiritual. 

2.  Set your heart on God's love for you.

     God's love is the same all the time!

"And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soul of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is."  Ephesians 3:17-18 (NLT)

3.  Set your mind on things that will last.

     What you feel isn't always what's real!

"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power."  Colossians 3:1 (NLT)

4.  Don't face it alone.

"Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone.  A rope made of three cords is hard to break."  Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV)

GOD'S WORD TEACHES US TO...

• Trust when you are anxious and worried.
• "Don't fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray.  Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."  Philippians 4:6-7 (Message) *These are the verses that show up everywhere in my life!
• Trust when you are afraid.
• What Moses said:  "Don't be afraid.  Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you."  Exodus 14:13 (NLT)
• What God said:  "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me?  Tell the people to get moving!'"  Exodus 14:15 (NLT)
• Move in the direction that God is leading.  Don't stand paralyzed.  Don't try to move in your own direction.  These verses are from when the Israelites were running from the Egyptians, and they came to the Red Sea.  Can you imagine if they had tried to swim across themselves instead of waiting for God to part the water?
• Trust when you are stubborn (stiff-necked, hard-hearted, etc.).
• Read the story of Naman in 2 Kings
• "Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?  How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!"  2 Kings 5:13 (NIV)
• "If you hear God's voice today, don't be stubborn!"  Hebrews 3:7b-8a (Contemporary English Version)
• God is more interested in changing our character than changing our circumstances.
• Trust when you are tired and worn out.
• "I have given up all hope, and I feel numb all over."  Psalm 143:4 (CEV) *Read the rest of the chapter
• "Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'"  Matthew 11:28 (NLT)
• God never fixes my outside so I can be better on the inside.  It's actually exactly the opposite!

I hope you're encouraged!

Jessica