Inside Out: A 40 Day Journey to Transforming Your Heartنموونە

Questioning Heart --> Trusting Heart 

Life happens. We lose our job.  Our house goes into foreclosure. Our spouse is unfaithful. Our children rebel. Our family member gets a terminal illness. It is in these critical moments of pain and loss that our hearts may question God's intentions toward us. Does He care? Where is He? How can this be part of His plan? What good can come out of this? If these questions remained unanswered, they can lead to significant doubts about who God is and if we should trust Him.  We have a preconceived idea of what we think God should be like. If He doesn't fit into our opinion of what we think is acceptable, we start to question His love and loyalty to us. 

Jesus knows when we question Him in our hearts. He knew that the scribes and Pharisees wondered how He could forgive a man of his sin in Luke 5:22. "When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, 'Why do you question in your hearts?'" It should have blown them away that Jesus not only forgave sins but knew what they were thinking in their hearts! Who can know our thoughts except for God? He was showing them more of who He was to encourage them to believe He indeed was the Son of God who has the authority to forgive sins.

Jesus knew that His disciples questioned if He had risen from the dead. When they saw Him, they were startled and frightened. "He said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'" (Luke 24:38) He showed them His nail-scarred hands and feet, yet some still didn't believe it was Him.  It was only after He reminded them what was written about Himself in the Old Testament that their hearts stopped questioning Him.  

Proverbs 3:5 says we are to, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." God will not always make sense to us. To grow in trusting Him with our whole hearts, we must stop trusting our assumptions about who we think He should be and saturate ourselves with the Word of God. We can begin by reading John's book and studying Jesus' life. There are seven "I am" statements in the book of John that Jesus uses to describe Himself. These statements are given to us to help us know Him and trust Him more. 

"I am the Bread of Life" (John 6:35). Jesus will sustain and satisfy our deepest needs emotionally, physically, and financially. "I am the light of the World" (John 8:13).  He will help us out of the darkness of sin and walk into the light of life to experience freedom. "I am the door to salvation" (John 10:9). When we invite Jesus into our lives, we have eternal security knowing we are adopted into His family and He will never abandon us. "I am the Good Shepherd" (John 10:11,14). He wants to guide and protect us on our journey through life. "I am the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25). Death had no power over Him. We, too, will be resurrected when Jesus returns and have eternal life with Him. We do not need to fear death. "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way for us to have a relationship with God the Father. He is the only truth. He is the only One who can bring us abundant life. "I am the vine, and you are the branches" (John 15:1, 5). We abide in Jesus to bear fruit in our lives and have an abundant life. 

Our faith increases when trust is built by learning Jesus' character and seeing how it is consistent throughout Scripture. "So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). God wants us to pour our hearts out to Him when life gets confusing and complicated. He wants to be our refuge of safety during those times. Psalm 62:8 says, "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." Jesus becomes our refuge when we cast our burdens onto Him. He will help us carry the uncertainties of life so that we do not live in hopelessness and despair. We just need to take the time to get to know Him better, trust Him more, and rest in who He is. Life happens, but with a trusting heart, we will rest in Him from the inside out. 

Take a Moment:

• How does studying God's character help us grow in our trust in Him?

• What are areas that are challenging for you to trust God? 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me trust You when I can't make sense of the world. I do not want to lean on my own understanding, but to trust that Your ways are higher than my ways and Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts.  Help me to learn who You are by reading Your Word. Help me to believe You love me, You are in control, You are faithful, and You have a plan and purpose for my life. May my faith increase so that I question You less and trust You more. Transform my heart by trusting in You. Amen.