Woman to Woman: Learning to Trust God in the Hard Places

While resting in the Lord culminates in deeper trusting of the Lord; we demonstrate trust by moving forward. Expressed differently, at times, God calls us to “be still” in our hearts and souls, but [in trust] walk out our heart peace in actions of obedience.

Psalm 46:10 exhorts us to “be still and know” that God is God.

Yet all too often, we kick into either problem solving or problem denying mode before even considering a pause of stillness.

The treasured gem of Psalm46:10 comes at the end of a psalm built on acknowledging the power and security in God. Consider the psalmist’s opening:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.”

(Psalm 46:1-3)

How many of your problems involve mountains falling into the sea, or roaring waters set on consuming you?

No doubt the trials I face surely feel like my world is crumbling, however, as the psalmist goes on to point out, God stands in our midst, we will not be shaken, as he invites us, “behold the works of the Lord.” (Psalm46:8)

After which we receive the exhortation of “be still”.

When we shift our posture from one of anxious reactivity to one of surrendered rest, we move to a place of heart stillness.

Without the pause facilitating the shift in focus from problem to Almighty God, inviting us into secure rest; trusting God in our current affliction remains an impossibility.

Moving towards trusting God while in a state of anxiety and overwhelm cannot happen.

In essence, trust comprises the relinquishing of questions and outcome attachment completely to God, which flows only from a place of heart stillness.

At times, we manifest resting in the Lord through literal rest: a cessation of our activity in physical stillness. While at other times, we demonstrate resting in the Lord through an action of trust from a place of heart stillness.

Moses and the Israelites modeled both postures for us in Exodus 14:13-15, when the Israelites fleeing Egypt and Pharoah came to the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit:

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?” Tell the Israelites to move on.

As we know from Exodus 14:10, when the Israelites saw Pharoah’s army, terror struck through their hearts. Moses’ response directs them simply “be still”; God will fight for them.

Moses’ directive aimed at stilling the terror of their hearts, not the physical position of their bodies. But then we witness a phenomenal response from God, as he rebukes Moses and the Israelites for crying out to Him, telling them rather “move on”.

The command to “be still” transposed fear into faith moving the focus back to God and His promised faithfulness instead of on the impossible obstacle in front of them.

Only when Moses raised his staff, and the Israelites moved forward into the Red Sea did they receive the full impact of God’s miraculous deliverance.

We all face Red Sea moments in our lives. Those moments when uncertainty dulls the remembrance of God’s goodness and past faithfulness while pain stifles hope.

At those times we must pause and pursue heart stillness that we may then move forward trusting God. Here are five practical ways for moving forward in trust.

Pause. This involves both a physical and heart level pause.

Pray. Bring the problem to God; stick to facts without embellishing your request with emotions and desired outcomes.

Remember. Call to mind with gratitude times of God’s past faithfulness in your life.

Rest. Linger in the place of intimacy created through pausing, praying, and remembering in gratitude.

Move. Move forward as God leads, leaving questions and desired outcomes in His hands.

In some of life’s hard situations, our heartfelt need cries out for the stillness of God’s secure Presence, where all God requires is the quiet trust of complete inactivity.

While in other situations, when “be still” means move forward, a quiet pause yields a respite from a harsh reality but urges a commitment of trust through continuation of the journey.

Either way, when we pursue stillness rather than reactive anxiety, we grow in our knowledge and experience of God, forging a deeper intimacy with Him from which trust becomes a natural outpouring.

Reflection:

What “impossible” situation are you facing right now?

How can you demonstrate trust in God by continuing to move forward?