A while back the Lord had given me this message which has prompted me to study it further and find out just what He meant. He told me, "Trust is Prosperity". Somehow I felt His love surround me and I wasn't quite sure what He meant, but I knew that my trust in Him would prosper me in ways I had not even thought about, not just financial. Prosperity engulfs many things, both physical and spiritual. It could be our health, our attitudes, the condition of our spiritual life, and somehow I think the financial end of it is on the far end of this prosperity. I realize that first we must be spiritualy whole before the material prosperity ever enters in to the picture. So, if trust is prosperity, what then is the meaning of trust? It is a word in the English language that can mean different things and if we can't get a hold of it in the right context, how do we know if we are trusting God like He expects us to? I think in order to trust God, we first must have faith in Him. How do we get that faith? The Bible tells us in Rom. 10:17 that faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God. Outside the Word of God, I suppose then we can't believe everything we hear. We are however to believe the Word of God for our lives. "Trust in, lean on, rely on and have confidence in Him at all times, you people, pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower.) Selah!" Psalm 62:8 (Amplified) God's Word is telling us, not suggesting that we MUST trust in Him at ALL times. Not some of the time. Again, is this easier said than done? We say we trust in God but yet we run around fretting over things we have no control of. How is this trusting God to do His job? If you're like me, you learn how to grab hold of something when it's tangible. I learn better with a visual in my mind. I never was any good at Algebra. I need to be able to hold or touch something. I think trust is such a word. How do we hold it? We can barely define it. Someone might say, "You can trust me." But do we simply take that at face value or do we need proof? We often will reply, "Show me, or prove it." And another example is when someone might say, "I'll trust them until they give me a reason not to." What exactly does this mean? Do we trust that person or don't we? Are we expecting to be disappointed in the outcome? It's like we are expecting them to let us down because we really don't trust them in the first place. But, is this how we put our trust in God? Have we ever told Him, "God, I'll trust You until You give me a reason not to."? If this is the case, your trust in God is null and void. God simply says, "Trust Me"...no ands, ifs, or buts. But being frail humans, we have a hard time thinking outside the box. I think it's a natural human tendancy to build up walls of protection when we have been hurt. We lock ourselves inside this fortress and think we are keeping the world out, no one will ever hurt us. After enough time, this wall is about 10' high with a lid on it. Nothing coming in, and nothing getting out. Before we know it, we are shut inside this box with all our resentments, betrayals, mistrust, doubts, fears, lack of confidence, etc. Since God will never break into your house, He will patiently stand outside and knock. But if you won't answer the door, not only can't He enter, His Word can't get in either. Paul tells us in the book of Rom. 14:23, that anyone who doubts is condemned before God because he's not true to his conviction and doesn't act on faith. Whatever does not come from faith is sin (whatever is done without a conviction of it's approval by God is sinful.). Something to think about, whatever is not approved by God is a sin. God doesn't approve of all these negative feelings that you chose to be locked up inside with. Just the way we think then is a sin. We know the mind is a battlefield. The mind rules the flesh when it believes in lies. The mind also rules the the spirit when it believes the truth and trusts in the Lord. Paul again tells us to try and learn (in our experience) what is pleasing to the Lord (let our lives be CONSTANT proof of what is most acceptable to Him. Eph. 5:10 (Amplified) As I said earlier, is this easier said than done? It does take practice, it does have to be learned. We learn it by our faith and hearing God's Words of truth and trust come into our lives and tear down the walls. How are we to learn this behavior? Again Paul tells us in Phil. 4:8 that we must think on higher things, all that is good, honest, noble, virtuous etc. These are the fruits of the spirit. Again in Eph. 4:23, Paul says to be CONSTANTLY renewed in the spirit of our mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude). Not only are we told to CONSTANTLY renew this spiritual way of thinking, but also to put on the helmet of salvation in order to resist and stand our ground on the evil day of danger. This helmet protects our way of thinking and allows us to trust God to be at the head of our battles. We must trust in Him with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls. If we can't change the situation of something, we then must change our mindset and relax. This is where the Lord God Almighty steps in and takes over. He says it's His battle and that we are more than just conquorers. Grab hold of the fact that God is the only One we can trust, He will never disappoint us or will He ever not give us a reason not to trust Him. Keep your eyes on God and you'll soon lose sight of your fears. |
