When I was a child, I had one major fear: that when I got older, God would make me marry a boy who I felt was downright icky. This fear was 100 percent due to older church members telling me to “be nice, because [he] just might be who God wants you to marry when you grow up.” I was genuinely terrified to see my adult years. Well I’m here now – adulthood, I mean – and I haven’t married the aforementioned boy (praises). Being single though, and therefore subject to constant poor relationship advice, I often hear that I should be careful when I pray for a spouse, because I just might get what I ask for. What does that even mean? But, beyond that, what does that say about God? Nothing good, that’s for sure.

I think it’s safe to say that many people who don’t surrender their future to the Lord, are afraid that He will give them exactly what they hate. I don’t want to trust God with my finances, because then He’ll make me be poor. If I give my dreams to the Lord, He’ll tear them to shreds and make me work at a dead-end job with no retirement. If I wait on the Lord to send me a spouse, He’ll send me the spouse of my nightmares and not of my dreams. Our knowledge of God is so flawed that we won’t trust Him to arrange our lives. Then we wonder why we’re exactly where we planned to be in life, and yet unfulfilled. We lack focus, following every whim and fancy that passes through our mind – and never make progress in anything. Or, we spend the rest of our life making excuses for a spouse who hates, and fights, our devotion to Christ.

Such is life for those who will not trust the plans of the Lord.

From the beginning of time, satan’s lie has been that what God gives us isn’t as good as what God is keeping us from. When we accept that lie, we soon find ourselves like Adam and Eve – cut off from the very paradise that God designed for us (Genesis 3). At what point has God given us reason to believe the lies of our enemy? I’ll say that again: we choose the lies of an enemy who wants to see us fail; over the plans of a Father who gave both Jesus and the Holy Spirit so we could succeed (John 3:16-17, John 14:25-26).

When we refuse to accept God’s plans, we take on a responsibility that we aren’t equipped for – which is, managing every detail of our lives. Even before the beginning of the world, God had planned our lives and purposes out completely. God, who knows the future completely, planned our lives completely – before He said, “Let there be light.” Our destinies are tens of thousands of years in the making! [Take a minute and let that sink in.] How can we even begin to think that our ambitions, based on a few (or more) decades of life experience, can top the life that God has for us? When we try to do God’s job, and think we can do a better job, we have reached a ridiculous level of pride (oft disguised as caution). Pride repels God, which leads to the next point.

One thing satan will not tell us is that we place ourselves outside of God’s will when we won’t trust Him. When we are outside of God’s will, we are outside of God’s protection. He makes no provision for those who don’t trust Him, because it is a sin not to trust Him. God never rewards sin. There is no way to retain the favor of the Lord, and reject His guidance at the same time. The devil knows that, and we should know that. Instead, we live as though God understands and excuses our lack of faith. Doubt is never, ever, ever acceptable for a Believer. We must see that sin for what it is, and then throw it off!

God wants us to trust Him. He demands that we trust Him. He left us an entire Bible full of His interactions with mankind, just so we can know Him, and in knowing Him, trust Him. Without the first, most basic, work of trusting God, we will never successfully live a lifestyle that pleases Him. If we don’t please the Father, we will spend eternity in regret. It is imperative to trust in the Lord completely. He is always faithful, He is always good. He is always trustworthy. There are no benefits in thinking otherwise.

THE BOTTOM LINE: We cannot give credence to lies that, ultimately, prove how little we believe that God is a good Father. It is spiritual suicide to doubt the Father’s plans for us! Trust Him always.

Helpful Scriptures

Psalm 34:8//Psalm 118:8-9//Psalm 139:13-18//Psalm 146//Proverbs 16:20//Proverbs 19:20-21//Jeremiah 17:7-8//Nahum 1:7//Matthew 7:7-11//

Helpful Video

Here’s a song by The Michael Gungor Band, that I think helps demonstrate the freedom that comes from trusting God… If you don’t think it fully applies, at least you’ll get an earful of lovely music.

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