Over the past several years we have had occasion to walk through deep waters. Reminded of our frailty, our choices were to walk on, licking our wounded spirits, doubting and questioning the One in whom our faith has been placed, OR hold on tighter to what we have learned of faith in Sovereign God.  The outcome of our frequent, fervent prayers was not what we asked for. Not even remotely.   We have been moved out of our comfort zone into the realm of fear and uncertainty, unsettled lack of purpose.

That first choice, to doubt and question and maybe even maintain a sense of anger at God who could have but did not perform in that circumstances as we desired, only works for so long.  Something has to change.  Since God does not change, it’s up to us. But how?

Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Personalizing: Thou, MY God, will KEEP ME your child in perfect peace

YES.  Exactly what I am looking for, but there is more. Whose mind, MY mind, is stayed (fixed, focused, firmly directed) on Thee (God).  Challenging, I am easily distracted, full of fears, doubts, questions about God’s real motives as He relates to me.  And the grand finale, challenge of all challenges…because (for this reason, I can have perfect peace, wait for it….) I trust in Thee.  There it is folks.  Trust.  The bottom line is my peace is lacking because I do mere lip service to the duty of trust.

Peace defined:  God will guard, protect, maintain me in (Hebrew: Peace, Peace…peace emphasized) undisturbed, perfect peace…..when my mind …my purpose, imagination, frame….is leaning upon or taking hold of, bearing  up, establishing,  holding, laying, leaning, lying hard, putting, resting self, setting self, standing fast,  sustained on Thee, because I trust, am confident or sure: – am boldly  confident, secure, sure,  in Thee (God).

We pray, with all our hearts we believe if we have enough faith in God’s ability, He can do that requested thing.  He is God. Creator of the Universe.  We believe that, and are confident if He can create the world surely He can manage to accomplish that which we have so faithfully asked of Him. 

But what are we trusting for?  And whom are we really trusting in?  We think that our desires are pure, and good, and best, and right.  But are they?  Can we know the mind of God? After a major life event that culminates in an outcome less than what we would choose or desire, after all the trial is over and we are left with thoughts of having been disappointed, or even abandoned by God we need to reflect.  What exactly was our motive?  And, what should our motive be?

If we have by faith  accepted that Christ died to offer us a way to be reconciled to God, trusting that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection were enough to satisfy God’s standard for us to be His adopted child….the outcome of that faith is positive, we have assurance and peace we are saved for all eternity….then isn’t God worthy of our trust in His plan for all things in our life, even the hard things?

Our prayer for a specific outcome, if closely examined, is commonly a request for God to make our life comfortable, to fix what hurts, to give us what we don’t have, replace that which shakes us out of our place of evenness and calm with what would restore our routine back to that in which we are content with or satisfied.  That is not trusting God’s plan and purpose.  It is staying in a place, a season, a comfort zone that requires the least amount of effort of faith in God’s goodness, His design for our lives. 

It is asking God to bless our plan rather than  seeing His blessing  in His plan/ purpose.

Complete, total, utter trust in God makes a bold statement in the face of the worst of life’s circumstances.  That trust shines out to declare, with Job 13:15   “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:….. “  because we realize there are worse things than the discomforts of this world.  We see with our finite mind’s eye, where God knows our Eternal destiny.  If we can, by faith, trust God to accept us in the beloved, as His adopted child, for the salvation of our pitiful soul, can we not then trust Him for all other needs, no matter how that “feels”?  Trust that He is good, and gives His children good things?  In all things we are to be looking for God to manifest His love and grace to us. Because that’s what He does.  Our task is not to be comfortable, to strive for that place of equilibrium.  Rather, we are to know God well enough to be able to give Him honor, and glory, praise and gratitude for His plan and purpose no matter what the circumstance.  Trusting Him rather than our own perception of what we think is good.

I believe that chair will hold me up.  I choose to remain standing.

I believe that door will lead to warm shelter.  I choose to remain outside, suffering the elements.

I believe that array of food will nourish and strengthen me.  I choose to pass it by, looking on while others partake.

I believe that aspirin will make my headache go away.  I choose to leave it in the bottle.

Believing isn’t enough.  The action needed is to trustfully engage.  Sit in the chair, walk through the door, eat the food, take the remedy. There is no trust if it isn’t complete trust.  Halfway sitting, one step on the thresh hold, a bite without swallowing, holding the pill in my hand…are all incomplete actions toward fully engaging trustfully.

Trusting God, fully engaged in embracing His Word, no holds barred.  Failure to do so results in less than satisfactory results.  Peace, that easily dissipates at the first sign of an expectation not being met.  That’s not Shalom Shalom, Perfect peace.  Perfect peace accepts disappointments and what might appear to be overlooked answers to prayer as God doing His work, accomplishing His plan within His timeframe for His purposes.  And the follow up to real trust, realizing the purpose of our very existence is “for His name’s sake”

Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

So the next time my prayers go unanswered, perhaps a good plan of action is to look at the motive.  Why do I pray for someone’s salvation?  do their actions disturb me? Are they upsetting the balance of my comfort zone?  Am I effected by the consequences of their selfish ungodly choices?  or, am I truly interesting in their soul’s salvation “for His name’s sake”.  Do I pray for healing for someone, because it’s uncomfortable to see a loved one in pain?  their illness creates hardship for me? Their sickness disturbs my peace, I fear the unknown? Or am I trusting God enough to say, for His name’s sake, His will be done, He is Sovereign, He knows all, He knows what will best accomplish His plan, and ultimately bring honor and glory to Him?

Thinking deeply about trust brings me to the place of examining what faith in Christ means.  If I can put my confidence in Christ’s sacrifice for me on the cross, believing God gave His Son to ransom me, and trust what His word says about me being accepted in the Beloved, I become the righteousness of His Son…why is it so difficult to daily trust Him to be caring for me, doing the right thing in the right time?  And what are my real motives for that faith in Him?  Avoiding Hell?  or for His name’s sake.  It doesn’t depend on me.  I only have to choose to agree with His Word.  If there is a discrepancy, I will trust God, before I will rely on my finite understanding.  My mind need only to be focused, trained, aimed at who God is and what He does.  I can choose to focus on needs, wants, what is lacking or I can choose to focus on God, and that is accomplished through His Word.

These are the thoughts that have changed my feeble faith, and paltry peace that doesn’t hold up under fire, to Shalom Shalom…perfect peace.