Trust in God and watch his power flow into your life
To trust in God, we singles need to change one simple thing in our lives. We need to listen to him instead of the world.
That's hard because we've been conditioned to hear and to believe in what we're hearing. We can hear the television. We can hear movies. We can hear our friends, but we can't audibly hear God.
We have to read his Word to hear from him, or we have to go to church and listen to the sermon and worship service. Those things take some time and energy, but if they help you grow more intimate with God, you can have a life-changing experience.
Trust in God goes against our nature
You and I live in a physical world, with sights and sounds and smells. We tend to believe what we can see and experience with our senses, because we are physical creatures.
But we're also spiritual creatures. You have an immortal soul that is invisible. It's your connection with the invisible world. "My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus said. (John 18:36, NIV) Heaven isn't visible, but God is there. We believe in heaven, and in God too.
We've been brainwashed into believing that only the visible is real. Not so! It may take faith to believe in an invisible God, but we know he exists from his Word and from the handiwork of his creation. Don't let anyone try to convince you this universe popped into existence from nothing but a Big Bang. How far-fetched!
It takes work to overcome this hurdle. You have to use a different kind of thinking. You are a Christian because you believe, you know in your heart that Jesus Christ is real and is everything he said he is.
Once you believe God is real, the next leap is to trust in him.
Trust in God takes courage
Nobody said the Christian life would be easy, and when you toss being single on top of it--hoo boy!
I don't know about you, but I don't need bungee jumping. Don't need scary roller coasters. Extreme sports? For wimps! You want thrills, you try living the Christian life the way it's meant to be lived.
The apostle Paul did that. What an adventurer! He made Indiana Jones look like a sissy. Paul faced wild beasts, shipwreck, and murderous mobs, all without a gun and a whip. He thumbed his nose at danger for one reason: He had complete and total faith in God.
Anybody can trust in what they can see. Daredevils trust in their own skills. What really takes courage is to go into something with the Almighty covering your back. Only the super-bold can take that step.
Trust in God takes acceptance
Now here's the part where brains are required. When you take this step, things don't always come out the way you'd like. That's part of surrendering your will to the Father's, another scary element.
You have to be spiritually mature to accept what God gives you. You have to recognize that his way is better than your way. Sometimes his way involves defeat or sadness. We want to be happy all the time. Sometimes God's will makes us unhappy, but relying on him means knowing that even if things don't work out for us in this life, they will in the next.
God is trustworthy.
You can trust in God because you know that no matter what happens, he will never abandon you. He is close at hand to help you. He hears your prayers. He may be invisible, but he is not distant. He hears your prayers even when you feel as if he doesn't, because feelings can't be trusted. God's promises can.
Trust in God takes understanding
Here's what you and I need to understand: This may seem risky, but it really isn't. It may seem scary, but that's only our imagination at work.
The hard, cold reality is that trusting in God is the smartest, safest thing a person can do. When you take that leap, God rewards your faith in him. The deepest kind of love requires trust. You prove your love when you trust in God.
Still, that little voice, whether it's Satan or the world or your own fears, will try to hold you back. It will tell you the commitment isn't worth it. Don't listen to it!
Learn from Paul. The Christian life was meant to be lived as a great adventure. It's immensely fulfilling when it is. What could be more awe-inspiring than knowing the Creator of the Universe has his hand on you and is guiding your steps?
Start slowly if you have to, with small steps. But work your way up to bigger things. Read your Bible and be assured that God's way is best for you.
Pray from the depths of your heart. Then trust in God!
