Trusting In God In Difficult Times

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Introduction:

We all have moments in our lives when we feel like nothing is going right. Times, when it seems like the world, is conspiring against us, and no matter what we do there just doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. That’s where trusting in God can come into play.

Trusting in God during challenging times.

1. Trusting in God doesn’t mean life will go exactly as planned, but it does make it worth living.

People often think that trust in God means that life will go exactly as planned, we get what we want, when we want it and how we want it but that’s not true – trusting in God doesn’t make life perfect, but it does make it worth living.

When bad things happen it’s easy to be mad at the world – but that’s not constructive, or helpful. Trusting in God means knowing that everything will work out for the best in the end, even if you can’t see how yet.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 ESV

Whether it’s trusting that God will help you find a job when you’re unemployed, waiting patiently for the right person to come into your life, or simply laying down in a hospital bed not knowing what will happen.

2. How to trust God in difficult times?

There are many ways that one can trust in God during tough times but here are six you can do immediately:

  • Recognize that God has a plan for your life;
  • Remember the amazing things God has done for you in the past;
  • Resist giving up;
  • Recognize that God is still there;
  • Read His Word;
  • Reach out to Him in prayer.

One of the first things to do is to recognize that God has a plan for your life– even if it doesn’t seem like His plan is making sense right now. You should also remember that He will always help you through difficult times. If you have faith in God and ask Him, everything will work out for the best eventually. (See Romans 8:28).

That doesn’t mean that the journey isn’t scary, bumpy, and goes according to your expectations, but it does mean that God will always be there with you until you reach your destination. When the people of Israel had been in Exile for many years and thought this would be their life forever, God reminded them through Jeremiah that He had a good plan in mind for them.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

No matter what you are going through, God’s plan for you is good!

Another thing to do is to remember the amazing things God has done for you in the past. Remembering how much He has helped you before will help remind you that He can and will help you today. If you’ve had a safe landing before, trust that He will do it again. You may want to write it down and keep a list to remind yourself.

Thirdly, resist giving up.

Sometimes, you feel like you can’t go on. You feel like the best thing would be to give up and that continuing life will only lead to more pain in the future. This is understandable; it’s hard not to think this way when everything seems stacked against you. But while giving up might seem like an attractive option, it’s not the best choice. Life is beautiful and filled with opportunities, some of which you might miss if you give up now. And even though things can be hard at times, that doesn’t mean that everything will go bad; some days are enjoyable and peaceful.

Resist the temptation to give up. Trusting in God means resisting giving up- no matter how tempting it might be. It is normal to get discouraged when things aren’t going the way we want them to go, but if we resist giving up and continue trusting God, we’ll see our situation changed for the better and it will build in us a better character. (See Romans 5:3-4).

Fourthly, recognize that God is still there, even if it seems like He’s not.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Romans 8:35-39 ESV

We might feel as though God has left us, but it’s important to remember that He is still with you -and will always be. On bad days, it’s easy to feel alone- but God is always with us and he will never leave us or forsake us. Never forget that. He promised!

I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you…

Hebrews 13:5 NIV

One of the most important things to do is remember that God loves us more than we can even imagine and He won’t give up on us either!

A fifth way to have trust in tough times is by Reading the Bible.

Reading the Bible builds faith and trust in God. Not only that, but it also gives us hope and inspiration for living out our lives each day of the week. It’s worth reading through each day, not just Sundays when the preacher speaks, because life’s hard and hard to live through sometimes. That’s why we need to read the Bible. It reminds us that God is there for us, even “at the end of our rope.”

When I feel like I can’t go on…

When I feel like I can’t possibly go through another day, another week, or another month…

That’s when it helps to remember this one thing: God doesn’t promise us an easy life. He promises us a wonderful, abundant life – but not necessarily an easy one.

Lastly, reach out to Him in prayer.

Pray that God will help you through the tough times and pray for hope, peace, comfort, and joy.

Remember; when we feel like we can’t go on… God says “I’ll go with you.” He promises to be there for us in our struggles. Despite what we see around us, God is still here with us! And while it may appear as though He isn’t looking out for us or doing anything about the bad stuff going on in the world, believe me: He cares. Whether or not everything happens according to our expectations doesn’t matter either. This life might seem dark at times but remember that God’s light never fails! In all of this darkness, His light shines brightly through us.

Conclusion:

The Bible says that we can trust in God no matter what life throws our way. (Proverbs 3:5-6) When we’re feeling like we don’t have the strength to go on, we need to understand and believe this truth. It should be a reminder of how much love and faithfulness He has shown to us even if things aren’t going as planned or as well as you would hope them to. We need not fear because His plans are perfect! Let’s celebrate together with joy knowing that our Father loves us unconditionally through difficult times just as much as he does when everything seems easy. Let Him take over your worries so that you could be filled with peace instead of worry. Your life will still be full of challenges but you get to learn and grow from them.

This is because we trust in God even when we don’t understand His ways (Psalm 37:5). When we believe that He knows what’s best for us, that makes it easier to accept what happens and where we are right now; through the good and the bad. We could confidently say ‘I know my redeemer lives!’ (Job 19:25-27).

Prayer

Lord, I am reaching out to you through prayer knowing that your plans for my life are perfect. I pray your will be done in everything. Please help me always recognize that you have a plan for my life; help me remember all the amazing things you have done for me in the past; help me resist giving up; help me recognize you are still there; I want to cultivate the habit of reading your Word, and always reach out to you in prayer in goods times and tough one. In Jesus Name Amen!