Trusting In God Even When You Don't Understand

This was the theme of the Ladies Retreat that I went to last weekend with the church we are going to here in Bangkok. I was asked to be one of the speakers and was told the theme and immediately I thought, this should be easy! Seems like I have had to do a lot of trusting and not much understanding. My second thought was, maybe I haven't really learned whatever lesson God wants me to learn since I am still doing a lot of this! I got my lesson ready and when we got to the motel, I went to my room to go over what I had prepared. Then I realized that with such a hectic morning, I hadn't done my devotions. So, I pulled out my book and went to the date for that day and this is what jumped off the page at me: "When things seem to be going all wrong, stop and affirm your trust in Me. Calmly bring these matters to Me, and leave them in My capable hands. Then, simply do the next thing. Stay in touch with Me through thankful, trusting prayers, resting in My sovereign control. Rejoice in Me - exult in the God of your salvation!" The lesson I was going to teach went out the window and God gave me a different one. I meditated on Proverbs 3:5&6 and the fact that the verse says "Trust in the Lord" with an understood "all the time". Not just when things are going good or when I can handle things but trust all the time in the Lord. If my trust is in the Lord, "I can do all things" because He will enable me to do what He wants. This is something we all know but I believe there are times in our lives when we have to be reminded of these seemingly "easy" things. The devil knows what can distract us from our walk with the Lord. Just as we always need to be in a mind of prayer, we always need to have an unquestionable trust. He will do the understanding for us. I made a list of all the "bad" things that have happened in my life. There were many on the list and I shared most of them with the ladies. I told them, "I am not telling you this so that you feel sorry for me, but all of us have problems, and what I thank God for is the fact that my circumstances haven't been worse than this. I thank God for teaching me something through each situation that He put into my life." Many times I have asked God, "Why me?" or "Why now?". Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." How true! There are things that have happened in my life that I wouldn't have chosen but the lessons I have learned and the knowledge I have gained have allowed me to help others through some of the same situations or just helped me deal with other problems that came along later in my life. Some of the reasons I may never know. One thing I know for sure, my faith in God has increased. No matter what I may be going through in my life right now, God is there and He will help me IF I trust in Him. I have learned that if I ask "Why NOT me?" and "Why NOT now?" I will have a clearer judgement on issues and even though I may not have the understanding, it reminds me that God knows what I am going through and that there is a purpose to what I am facing. Life is not always easy but having the understanding that HE does the understanding, makes it so much easier!