Today’s Daily Bread ~ Mistrustitis

2 Chronicles 20:15 – He said, “Listen, King Jehoshaphat!  Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem!  This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid!  Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

God has shown me areas in my life where I tend to give the enemy a stronghold.  The biggest was my drinking, so on October 27^th of 2009, I surrendered it to the Lord, acknowledging that my way wasn’t working.  I couldn’t control my drinking, and it was creating a playground of opportunity for the devil.

The second biggest was getting caught up in what others thought of me.  That had been a demon of mine since I was very young.  It finally manifested itself in an eating disorder, and an overused gym membership, among other things.  God has certainly delivered me from both, as I’m gently reminded of every time I look at my poor, lonely Lifetime Fitness card.  I suppose it’s time to let that puppy go and put the money toward a noble cause.  Duly noted.

Now that I’ve had some time to enjoy my miracle of healing and deliverance, the Holy Spirit is moving me on to the next area of needed improvement.  My ongoing, pesky habit of not trusting God to handle things.  Let’s call it, “mistrustitis.”

Mistrustitis comes with several symptoms.  Fear of the future is perhaps the biggest.  I get overwhelmed so easily.  I tend to look ahead and create scenarios in my mind…”I have to get this done, and then I should be working on this, and when am I going to fit Christmas shopping in, and I haven’t even thought about this….” 

“Shhhhhhhh,” whispers the Holy Spirit.  “Be still and know that I am God.”

It is good to be prepared.  But the God who promises to keep us in perfect peace is the God who commands us not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today’s trouble is enough for today (Matthew 6:34).

What seems to typically occur with me is this:  I will worry about something until I’m blue in the face.  If it comes to pass (usually doesn’t), I find out it was far more bearable than I thought it would be.  Here is why:  God has given us our share of strength for TODAY.  If life throws us a curveball TODAY, we will hit it through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Although it might rattle us, it will not crush us.  Tomorrow’s strength is not in our possession yet.  Therefore, when we dwell on events yet to be, we are viewing them outside of the Lord’s strength.

“Don’t do that!” says God.  “Look at me!  Don’t look at that, it’s too much for you right now.  Look at me, and when the time comes, I will give you your portion of strength and power to face it.”  How I wish I could get my frail little mind to take ownership of that.

David tells us this in Psalm37:18-19, “Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive a reward that lasts forever.  They will survive through hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.”  God assures us that He is with us day by day, that He strengthens us on a day to day basis.  He wants us to concentrate on where we are right now…right this very moment.  Are you in a season of plenty, worrying about the possibility of unemployment?  Don’t worry about it – but do be a good steward with your money, and rest in the knowledge that if your income were to go down, you would survive.  And God promises that you will have more than enough to live on.

Are you in a season of less?  Concentrate on what you do have.  The NIV phrases it this way, “In times of disaster they will not whither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.”  When you view money and possessions from a heavenly perspective, you don’t fear losing them quite so much.  In 2009, 80% of the world lived on less than ten dollars a day.  20% of those lived on less than two dollars a day.  When we realize that Jesus Christ is truly all we need, and that our luxuries are unnecessary extras, we understand that, yes, even in days of famine we will enjoy plenty.

The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand (Psalm 37:20-21).  God desires for us to seek Him and enjoy His Presence.  We can’t do that if we are always living in the land of what-if.  He can’t direct our steps if we aren’t looking at Him and listening for His voice.  If we’re straining to see too far down the road, we will certainly stumble over what is beneath us.

Child, look around you.  I am right here.  And I, who created the heavens and the earth, can handle your cares and concerns.  Trust in the God who loves you.  Don’t look behind, and don’t look ahead.  Instead, look at my Son.  Trust me to carry your burdens for you.  Trust me to fight your battles with you.  Trust me to put my words in your mouth when the time comes for you to speak.  Let me love you, let me bless you abundantly!  Empty your mind of worry so I can fill it with my peace.  Now, walk with me, and rest with the assurance that I know where your foot will land next, and I clear the path as we go.

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us for not trusting You to handle our battles.  Help us to trust You more, God.  Convict us to spend more time in Your Word, getting to know You more, so that we will be fully confident that You carry out Your promises.  When we see that You are faithful, help us to tell others about it so that they may have peace in You, too!  God, we believe in You.  Help us to believe You.  It is so easy to know something cognitively, Lord, yet not live it out.  Help us to make our cognitive knowledge of You our reality.  We love You so much, God, and we thank You in advance for this.  We ask these things in the blessed, beautiful name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.