Stressful Trust

Life brings some interesting and stressful events across our paths. Paul writes: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered…we were under great pressure far beyond our ability to endure…But this happened that we might now rely upon ourselves but on God…”(2 Corinthians 1:8-11)

We face great stress, pressure and anxiety at times. At times we even feel like we are dying inside. Is there any purpose for these hard times? It just might be that God is telling us to stop relying upon ourselves, to stop trusting in our abilities, and to stop seeking our desires.

We must rely upon God “who raises the dead.” Perhaps we are dying inside—not physically but in our dependence upon us. We are realizing these events are beyond our coping skills. God has brought us to this place to kill out our self-reliance. Self-reliance dies a very stubborn death. It goes kicking and screaming. We think, “I’m supposed to be able to handle these events” – The truth is NO I’M NOT! Only God can handle these events and we desperately need him.

We must totally rely upon God to handle life. We must let go of our self reliance and discover the joy, power, peace and strength of God-reliance.

The question is not only can I trust God, but will I?