Fearless Families: Building Brave Homes in an Uncertain WorldSample

Trust: The Foundation That Stands

Most of us try to build our lives on a foundation of safety. Why? Because fear tells us we cannot truly be at peace until our safety and the safety of our loved ones are fully secured. So we run about battening down the hatches and making plans for any contingency. 

But reality has a way of rearing its head and, with a roar, reminding us that no matter how discerning, wise, and prudent we are, true safety will never be within our grasp.

Continually reaching for something we can never fully attain is a recipe for anxiety. The things we depend on to calm our fears only create more fear. Safety is not a strong foundation for a family home. 

But trust is. Knowing we can’t fully secure safety for ourselves, we turn our attention instead to developing a deeper trust in God while also learning to trust one another.

Most people spend their lives either arrogantly believing they are in full control of their lives or, at the other extreme, existing in the dreadful belief that their lives are completely beyond their control and subject to the whims of chance or fate. But a few of us realize the deepest of life’s truths.

God is in control.

While life, nature, and the world are not under our control, God is more powerful than all these things. Just because life doesn’t always make sense to us does not mean there is no sense in living. God’s sovereign control over His creation infuses our lives with meaning and purpose. 

For those of us who acknowledge His sovereignty and authority in our lives and submit to His will out of love and respect, God promises to bring good out of even our worst circumstances (Rom. 8:28).

If you foolishly believe that you have control over every aspect of your life — wake up! You aren’t that powerful. Nobody is. 

If you sadly believe that life has no significance and that nothing you do really matters — look up! Your life has more purpose and potential than you think. 

If you rightly believe that a loving God is in control of all things — speak up! The world needs to hear of your faith, to know that God is at work even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.

The Home of the Brave is built on this third level of awareness — where it’s understood that the byproduct of knowing God is growing trust. 

This trust is buoyed by the hope that comes from recognizing that God is in control, that He has plans for our lives, and that He can and will use everything for His glory and our good. 

Even in the most desperate of times, we can live in expectation that God is up to something good.