“The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.” Psalm 111:7 (NIV)
I stood in front of the busted up walls amazed by all I never knew was behind them. Wires. Pipes. Support beams. Insulation. It all stood out now so very vulnerable and exposed. I ran my hand along the rough reality of renovation and thought how very similar my heart felt at the moment. The only difference was I knew my house would be put back together, better than ever.
I wasn’t so sure about my heart.
With the house, I knew a basic time frame. I also knew enough about renovations to add a few months of buffer time to the end date. Regardless, I absolutely knew there would be a beginning to this project and there would be an ending to this project. I also knew the end result would be beautiful. And since I knew the basic time frame and how beautiful things would eventually be, the busting up part of the renovation didn’t bother me. I was actually happy that demolition occurred.
The demolition was not a sign of irreparable problems. It was a sign of intentional progress. But I couldn’t say the same about the busted up places of my heart. Not right now. Not yet.
When I stood and looked in the mirror, my demolished heart wasn’t quite as easy to see as the walls in my house. The brokenness certainly revealed things, but they weren’t as easy to identify as pipes and wires. They were strange threads of fear, anxiety, shock, trauma, and distrust.
Distrust. There it was. The biggest of all the issues that resided beneath my surface. The ripping open and exposing of my heart had certainly revealed something I needed to see but didn’t dare want to admit.
About me. About God. And about my utter lack of trust in Him.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a Jesus girl through and through. I love studying His Word, doing the right and required things, following Him and fulfilling my calling. But when God starts to deviate from the plan I’m assuming my life should follow, I’m much more apt to want to tame God, not trust Him.
I want to demand the builder hand over the tools. And though I have no clue how to truly make things better, I start patching and covering and frantically fixating on a hodgepodge repair that will be disappointing at best, detrimental at worst.
And I wonder why I find myself so very exhausted and anxious and heavy burdened on the inside while singing and quoting verses about the abundant Christian life on the outside.
There is a disconnect somewhere between the faith I want and the one I’m living.
I know you feel it too. I’ve seen it in your tear-filled eyes and I’ve heard it in your questions around the harder things to understand about God.
So how do we rebuild our trust in God? Where do we even begin? I’ve found the best place to start is in His Word.
The truth of God’s trustworthy character is evident in every page of Scripture. We see evidence of this truth in the covenant promises God made to Abraham, Moses, and David and then kept. We see it in His faithfulness to provide for the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings — going before them in a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day, resting in the midst of their presence in the tabernacle, providing them manna to eat.
And there was one thing God did that outshines every other example of His trustworthy nature. God was faithful to the promise He made to Adam and Eve by crushing the head of the serpent as He sent His own Son to earth to die the death we should have died. Jesus reigns victorious over sin and death.
This is why the psalmist could truthfully declare in Psalm 111:7, “The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.”
The Hebrew word for trustworthy in this verse comes from the root word, אמן ( ́á·mân) and encapsulates loyalty and faithfulness. It tells of dependability, all characteristics that are true and evident in God. In one sentence the psalmist declared that all of God’s works are faithful and filled with justice; therefore, He is trustworthy.
This is how we stop resisting God’s ways. This is where we start finding a more grounded faith, renovated hearts, and a strengthened trust in God like never before. We look to His Word for the truth of His faithfulness. Because when we remember His faithfulness, we come to believe that because God is faithful, He can be trusted.
Father God, thank You for reminding me that I don’t have to have all of the answers. I just need to trust. Help me to fix my eyes on Your faithfulness. I’m loosening my grip and surrendering all of my life into Your loving and capable hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Are you exhausted trying to keep everything under control because you fear God won’t come through? Are you looking for a way to find relief from your unbelief?
Find a safe place to acknowledge your distrust and start taking steps to truly rely on the Lord with my new Bible Study on 1&2 Kings, Trustworthy: Overcoming Our Greatest Struggles to Trust God. It releases TODAY! And, for release day only, if you order your copy from Proverbs 31 Ministries, you’ll receive special bonus materials you can’t get anywhere else. Get your copy here!
I know trusting God in any circumstance isn’t always easy. I <3 how I am a part of two wonderful church groups, who are always willing to help me grow in my faith continually, regardless of what I may be going through at any time. God just wants to us me, encouraging me to help others understand what has already happened in my life. Ultimately, I can be of encouragement to someone else in their challenging time of need by sharing my experiences of how God has brought me through my own life challenges, especially medically-related obstacles.
Amen..
Your words speak right to my heart. I am grateful to the Lord for giving you the courage to share what you have learned. You will probably never know how much it’s meant to me.
I am in such a place of brokenness and trusting Gods promises right now is all I have. I can’t breathe I am hurting so bad from broken relationships and choosing my own path instead of waiting for Gods timing. Thank you for your devotions. I am at rock bottom.
I so resonate with the “renovation” of the heart revealing this distrust of God. I once thought that I had faith and trust in spades. In reality, I had this carefully ordered life that consisted of a ton of rules and striving and a faulty belief system that if I just did this, that and the other thing out would pop a blessed life – and by blessed life I mean MY definition of blessed. Instead some significant loss and trials revealed I was trusting in my own efforts…and God brought me to a place where I had nothing left but Him. I’m “training” in trust, learning the skill of trust. WOW…what a journey – and one that I’m very much still in process with. The blessed life has become one where no matter what happens, God’s presence is enough. Yes, there is still tears, pain and struggle as I continue to be renovated – but I serve a God who is perfect love and trustworthy in all things. Thanks so much for this beautiful picture!
So need this study but I can’t afford the videos to go along with it. Hope it is an online study soon!
Please pray for me. For my marriage… I’m drowning. Drowning in distrust of everything. I thought i was following God’s leading. But the lies from my husband don’t stop. I’m afraid he’s cheating again and I just don’t even know what to do anymore I’m so broken beyond repair…
Hello Lysa.
I hope you are doing well.
CIAO BELLA 😆 I’m originally from Italy 🇮🇹, but in U.S for many years now.
Just wanted you to know that GOD has used you big time in my life with these two books: Uninvited and Unglued. I think I’m also going to read really soon; it’s not supposed to be this way.😍
Just want you to know your pain wasn’t waisted ,and it served as a ripple effect into many people’s lives .
God helped me through you and then he will use me to help others through your lessons, tears and pain and suffering and trails and……. Hahaha you get the point.
We serve a Mighty God, HE knows exactly what he does.
Thank you for being so open and transparent .
Un bacio 🇮🇹
Giorgia.
Just completed day 1 and discovering more about King David. Will begin a women’s bible study over this study later in January!
I can relate to much of this. I just read the letter you wished you would have received from your 2019 self 4 years ago. I’ve watched you through P31 and social media. I read and re-read It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way a zillion times – I even led small groups through the study (which is amazing by the way – so many Purple Hearts in my life now!). But I still had days where I found myself looking into the bathroom mirror questioning even my own reflection. This new walk as a single momma has been the hardest journey I’ve ever taken…and not willingly. It’s been 14 months and the demolition has been unreal. I keep thinking “Wow God, it’s looking a lot better in here. I think we have reached a great stopping point.” To which He gently responds, “Hey kiddo (I really do sense Him call me that and it’s awesome) the second I stop welcoming this season of healing in your life is the very moment I stop being Who I Am. You think you know me, but I’m inviting you deeper and to so much more. You are not alone. We are in this together. I love you.”
As the holiday season continues, my heart hurts as my hands lay open in order to receive what God is doing. The way we approach what God is doing in our lives will either push our kids towards or away from God. My boys have seen every emoji represented from me this past year and we have had countless, raw, “where is God and how in the world do we walk this out“ conversations. That deep demotition-invaded level wasn’t present last year. My middle kiddo accepted Christ a few months ago as brokenness surrounded all of us. He saw what God was doing. He claimed the Truth of His Word rather than what he was seeing and interpreting by circumstances.
I have no clue what this next week, month or even year will bring, but because God is who He says that He is, I am not the same. It’s life changing. It’s literally God loving me back to life.
Just wanted to say thank you for all of your written encouragement, podcasts and resources. Maybe one day I can see you again in-person. All I know is that we all have those days where that crud of lies enter our thoughts and we question if all of the vulnerability, time spent and resources shared is really worth it. Well, yes. From this boy mom house to yours – thank you. Happy Thanksgiving friend.
I’m a missionary that lives in Nicaragua and I would love to get the book, Trustworthy, to do the online Bible Study. Do you know why it is not published as an ebook so I can participate in the study? Thanks for your help
Hi Jennifer! You can purchase the ebook version of the Trustworthy study book directly from LifeWay here: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/trustworthy-bible-study-ebook-P005822270 — we’re so happy you’ll be joining us for the online study! – Amanda, LT Ministry Team
Lysa,
My sister gave me the devotional Embraced. It was a God thing. So many of your daily devotions in that book parallel my life and I think you have a gift of writing that is definitely only from the Lord. Words have such power and you use your gift to help people. I don’t think you will ever know the impact this devotional has had on my life. I am learning about my identity in Christ. It is not about a career, being a mother or being a friend etc. My identity is I am a child of God, that is who I am. Only caring about what our heavenly Father thinks and not the people of this world. Continue to inspire and use your gifts for Jesus. Thank you so much again for making such a difference in my life!
I know I am where I need to be. Thank you for being the vessel.
So haven’t you been protecting your faith, pursuing Christ in your life, pouring your all into your matt and family and it did not protect you from sin that came in to hurt, disappoint and try to destroy your marriage? How does God never let me down when someone, my husband, decides after 24 years to pursue another woman, another family? And not, my efforts to forgive, recover, move forward, trust God can rebuild anything, after trusting Him for 24 years to bring my family together and now! Now! My husband de ides to quit! The “now” was two years ago, so for two years I/we have been trying to recover. It still feels like he thinks I’m the problem. I still do all my good girl Jesus things, but why am I not more trusting in God? Still not resting in His strength? Not feeling a forgiving sprit in me when I’ve decided to forgive? I don’t see how Jesus can do with me what He has done with you, and yet I don’t know how to give up.