Natural disasters, job losses, cancer, stock market crash, family problems, stress… Seems like there’s always a long list of things that have gone wrong or things we don’t like. Our first reaction when something goes wrong is to worry and be afraid. We think things aren’t going to work out. We freak out. Trusting God shouldn’t be difficult for us Christians, but for some reason, it’s a tough thing to do. There’s a really good sign that says “I will handle all your problems today. - God”. So take a deep breath, stop your fears and worries for awhile and do the following practical steps to help you trust in God, especially when you don't understand or like what's happening.
Step 1 – Say aloud, “I believe in God.” If you don’t believe God exists, you can’t trust him. But He is there. Read the Bible faithfully to get to know who God is, and what He’s like. Start with the Book of Psalms. Stay focused on the Bible and what it says. It will help you to stay grounded, and not focused on all the awful things going on around you.
Step 2 – Believe in God's abilities. If we really believe in all of God’s abilities and powers, we will never be afraid or worried that something won’t work out. It stretches our own faith and belief in him, when we go through difficult times.
Step 3 - Believe in God's willingness to help you through the tough time. God doesn’t want you to stay in the tough time; he wants you to learn some lesson from it. Ask him what the lesson is, and to help you through it. His Holy Spirit is always there, to be called upon in any emergency. Psalm 50:15 says, “Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.” This may be God’s way of calling you to his side.
Step 4 - Believe God can and will work things out for good. Things are always the most difficult when we can’t see the other side of our troubles. We can’t see how it will work out. This really stretches our faith because all we can see are the difficult circumstances in front of us. Trusting God seems extremely difficult. God is calling us to believe what seems impossible. Ask him to help you believe.
Step 5 - Remember the good things God has done in the past. Count your blessings. The good things God has previously done remind us that he can still do good things again. If God provided money for you in the past, be assured he can provide money for you again. If God did something incredible for you once, he can do it again.
Step 6 - Whenever you're tempted to worry, take a deep breath and think of something that makes you happy. Keep doing this every time the worry comes back. This is the only way to stop chronic worrying. You can also memorize some verses that you can claim as you pray and believe in God’s promises for you: 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) – “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”. And Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.”
(Adapted from eHow.com, published by the Philippine GCI web)
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