Joyce Meyer - Trusting God - Part 1

TOPICS: Trust

Well, thank you for joining me today on, "Enjoying Everyday Life". And, you know, I can't think of anything that can help you enjoy life more than learning God's word, because all of it is just true and wonderful. And if we follow the Word of God, our lives just get better and better and better. Now, that doesn't mean that we never have any problems, but it is wonderful to know that if we're in Christ and we have a problem, we don't have to have it alone. I tell people, a lot of times, that your worst day with Jesus will be better than your best day ever was without him. So, I love that.

You know, you hear people say, "Well, I'm going through this and I'm going through that, I'm going through something else". And it struck me, one day, "Well, thank God, you're going through". You know, you're not just stuck in the middle of something, but God's gonna help you get through it. So, we're gonna talk for, today, and the next couple of days, about trust, trusting God. Because really, trusting God is pretty much the answer to every problem we have. If you wanna have any peace or any joy, you have to learn how to trust God. And so, today we're gonna talk about trusting God at all times, in all things. Trust God at all times, in all things. Especially the things we don't understand or that don't make any sense.

I love 1 Peter 2:23. I've actually got a plaque with this scripture in my office. "When he was reviled and insulted, he did not revile or offer insult in return: when he was abused and suffered, he made no threats of vengeance: but he trusted himself and everything to him who judges fairly". And I thought, boy, "If we could manage that," to trust ourself. You know, everybody in here probably has things that they'd like to change about themselves. But we can't change ourselves, only God can change us. And so, it would be so much better to pray about it and then just trust God to do what needs to be done. Or to show you if there's something that he does want you to do. And when someone mistreats us or treats us unjustly or hurts us, it's a pretty natural human thing to want to get them back. But it's not the Christian thing to do.

And so, we don't get to act like everybody else, we get to learn how to act like Jesus. And if you really look at his life when he was here on the earth, especially the three years he ministered, he had rejection, he had abandonment. He went to the cross, people told lies about him. And you never once see him flustered, or ever threatened to get anybody back, because he knew that God is a God of justice. And that's one of my favorite attributes of God, that he's a God of justice. And what that means is that he makes all wrong things right, eventually. Maybe not in our timing, but even if they're not made right until we go into eternity.

I think we need to be more eternity minded and really realize that, I mean, the amount of time that we're here is just like one grain of sand on all the beaches in all the world compared to eternity. We can't even grasp forever, and ever, and ever and ever. And I wonder, sometimes, why there's not more told to us about heaven in the Bible. But I was pondering that one day, and the thing that came to my heart is "It's gonna be so amazing, so astoundingly amazing that our minds couldn't grasp it anyway, so why even bother trying to tell us"?

So, I want you to start thinking about trusting yourself and everything, everything in your life to God. And don't just trust him when you have a problem. Trust him every single day for whatever you need to do. And you know, I didn't come in here not trusting God to help me, even though I've done this thousands and thousands of times. You can't lean on how many times you've been good at it before. You have to trust God to help you all the time. Being able to trust God completely brings us into his rest. And the rest of God, the Bible calls it "A supernatural rest". It's not a rest from work, but it's a rest in work. That means that I can stand here and do this and not feel insecure, not feel afraid, not be concerned about what everybody thinks. Because I'm trusting God to bring out of me what he wants brought out.

So, this supernatural rest is a rest that we can have in the midst of whatever it is that we're doing. And, you know, God created everything in six days, and then on the seventh day he rested. And I've been kind of thinking about this, and I thought, "I guess on the seventh day he created rest". Bible doesn't exactly say that, but he talks about how it was a special day and that we need to have... Of course, one of the Old Testament laws was they needed to rest at least one day out of seven. But this is something different that Matthew 11:28 is talking about. It's talking about living in that rest. How many of you think it would be really nice to not ever have to worry again?

About anything, or to never have to be afraid of anything? Well, just to encourage you, one of the things I wanna tell you is, this is not something you just automatically get downloaded to you when you become a Christian. Trusting God, I believe, is something that comes gradually over a period of time as we have experience with God. Now, God does sometimes give the gift of faith. It's one of the gifts of the spirit. But I don't think the gift of faith is given for like your whole life. I think God gives that gift for special things he's called you to do or for special circumstances.

And I know that Dave and I have a gift of faith concerning the ministry. Because if I look at the reality of what we're doing, I would be frightened out of my mind. I mean, the amount of finances that we need every month just to keep things going: and it just doesn't bother us. But you know how I think we got that faith? Because for six years, we had to believe God every month just to be able to pay our bills. And every month, we saw him come through and come through and come through. And I'm like, "Why does this, when are we going to get a breakthrough? Why is this taking so long"?

Well, you know, sometimes God wants to make sure that we've really got it. Like we really understand. And there was, sometimes, I actually miss some of those days of having so many little miracles, but nonetheless still miracles. Just the things that God did for us that were just so like, "You've got to be kidding". Like I remember one time writing on my little prayer list that I needed 12 new dishcloths. I didn't have the money to go buy 'em. And I don't remember how long it was, but a week or two later, some lady that I didn't even know came to the door and said, "I hope you don't think I'm crazy, but I really felt like God told me to bring you 12 dishrags".

Well, I'm like, "Aaah"! You know? And I'm sure she thought I was totally nuts. But, you know, having those kinds of things happen, they let you know that God knows you and he knows what you need and that he cares about even the littlest, tiniest thing in your life. I've actually still got that prayer list. I asked for a skillet, and some dishrags, and some dish towels, and God eventually provided everything on that list. But Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [i will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]" now, you know, our thoughts and our mind have so much to do with all this. I mean, worry is a thinking process. Fear involves our emotions and our thinking. That's why it's so important to learn that the battle we fight is fought on the ground of our mind.

Satan tries to tell us lies, "You're not going to make it. It's not going to work. God's never going to come through. You know, that report you got from the doctor, it's worse than what you think. You're gonna die. You're not gonna make it". And that's why we have to have the truth of God's word to fight back with. And I know it's challenging when you're in the beginning of your walk with God because there's so much to learn. But when I look back at the last 48 years of my life and having studied the word that long and being very familiar with it now, let me tell you, you are never wasting your time when you're studying the word because it will keep you strong when you need it.

And as we know, the world that we live in is getting crazier by the day. And so, but we don't have to be afraid because God knows what he's doing. And if we're here on the earth at this time, we're here because God chose us to be here in this timeframe. And it actually is a privilege, not anything to be afraid of. He must have known we could handle it, or we wouldn't be here. And then Hebrews 4:3 talks more about this rest. And it comes through believing or through trusting or through faith. They're all kind of similar words with just a little different meaning. But it says, "For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest".

Now, just think about it. I know out of some of you and people certainly watching my TV, somebody I'm talking to is worried about something. But you can trade that right now for trusting. You can, David said, "What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in you". So, trust is something that you can decide where you're gonna put it. Are you gonna put your trust in yourself? Are you gonna put your trust in the bank? Are you gonna put your trust in your friends? And not that we don't wanna trust our friends, but you can't give a trust to people that belongs only to God. Because I think as most of us have learned, people can surprise you and do things that you never, ever thought they would do.

And some people actually lose their faith over things like that. And you know what that tells me? Your faith is in the wrong thing. You always keep your faith in God. And you don't distrust people, but there's a scripture in John 2:24 and 25 where it says, "Jesus, for his part, did not trust himself to them because he knew human nature". I like that. It doesn't say he didn't trust them. He's just basically saying there was a part of himself that he reserved for God alone. He didn't just like. Don't ever look at anybody and think you'll never hurt me. Because relationship always involves some kind of pain.

And I'll tell you, one of the greatest gifts that God has given us, we think it's so hard to do, but one of the greatest gifts that God has given us is the ability to forgive. I mean, it really is a great gift from God because you can either stay angry and resentful and bitter and be full of hatred and just play right into the devil's hands and just keep letting the enemy injure you over and over and over, or you have the option of forgiving, letting it go, praying for the people that hurt you, and trusting God to do whatever he feels needs to be done in the situation. So, if we wanna have rest, we need to believe. We need to believe what? We need to believe the promises in God's word that he loves you, unconditionally.

Do you know that God will never love you any more than he does at this moment, right now? And some of you might think, "No". But see, that's us wanting to earn more love, and you can't earn God's love. He's not for sale. Love is not something he does, it's who he is. And he loves us not because we deserve it, but because he wants to. That's what the Bible says. It was his kind intent and his desire. It was what he wanted to do. Hebrews 4:3 says, "We who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest, in accordance with his declaration that those [who did not believe] Would not enter when he said, 'as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest:' and this he said although [his] Works had been completed and prepared [and waiting for all those who would believe] From the foundation of the world".

Now, if you go over into Hebrews and some of the other gospels and books in the New Testament, it says that this sabbath rest is still available today for anybody who wants to enter in. So, maybe you've spent the whole rest of your life worrying, but it's not too late today. And you can't wait for a feeling. It is a decision. What did the centurion say? "I believe. Help my unbelief". Just be honest with God. I believe, but I wanna grow in my believing. And I'll tell you, when you pray that what's going to happen, you're gonna get a problem. I mean, I might as well tell you the truth. You're gonna get a problem because we have to have something to trust God for.

You know, there's no trick to trusting God in the light. It's when we're in the dark and nothing makes sense that we need to trust God. So, many times, the enemy brings a problem into our life, and although God could do something about it, he doesn't do it right away because he intends to use what satan intended for harm for good. You'd be amazed what you learn in trials and tribulations. One man said, "I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days pile up on me at once". And that's true. And then, in verse 10, it says, "For he who has once entered God's rest has ceased from the weariness and the pain of human labors".

Those human labors are when you're trying to do something yourself. Do any of you have anybody in your life that you're trying to change? How about anybody trying to change themselves? Oh, we love that one. Trying to make your problems go away. We spent, or I spent a lot of years, Dave, wasn't much of a worrier anyway. But I spent a lot of years trying to make my ministry grow, trying to open doors that only God could open. And it's all miserable. It's just human labor and struggling when we really just need to trust God to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. Human labors are things like worry, fear, insecurity, works of the flesh, anxiety, unforgiveness, all those things.

And I love verse 11. Now, pay attention to this. "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter the rest of God". We don't need to try to make anything happen in our life. We need to actually, he says, "Strive to enter the rest of God". What if, today, you walked out of here and you said, "My goal from now on is going to be to enter God's rest every time something happens that bothers me. I'm gonna remind myself that only God can take care of it, and that he loves me, and that he will do it. And if he takes longer than I would like him to, he has a reason".

Just because God doesn't tell us why, doesn't mean he doesn't have a reason. He has a reason for everything that he does. However, sometimes, God seems to us to be unreasonable, and we try to find a reason for what's unreasonable and it just doesn't work. He has a lot of secrets. But just think, someday, we're gonna know everything just like God does. That's what it says in 1 Corinthians 13. Right now, "We know in part, but the day will come when we will know even as we are known". Just think how well God knows every little, teeny tiny thing about you. And the day will come when we'll know all those things about God. Trusting God is the only answer for worry.

Psalm 37:1-5. I love to go to Psalm 37, sometimes, in the morning, and just read it. It's a great Psalm. "Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness". Well, we're living in times where people need to apply this. Fret not yourself over all the evil that's going on in the world. Because you know what? God really is still in control. And it will end well. We've already read the end of the book. Now, nobody knows exactly what we're gonna have to go through until then. But I am convinced that God will never put more on us than what we can bear. And "With every temptation, he will provide the way out".

So, we don't need, you know, the rest of the world lives in fear. The Bible says, "In the last days, men's hearts will fail them for fear". But we don't have to have that. I don't spend my time talking negative about everything that's going on in the world. I'd rather talk about the God who always takes care of us and gives us the answer. "For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb". And verse three is one of my very favorite scriptures.

"Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good". I think we missed that "Do good" part for a long time. And it was just like, "Trust God, trust God, we'll just trust God". But the Bible really does give you something to do. It doesn't tell you to worry about your problem. It doesn't tell you to try to figure out your problem. But it does tell you while you're waiting for God to solve your problem to stay busy doing good.

Every day, I suggest, every day that you ask God, "What can I do for you today"? We sure go to him with our list of everything we need him to do for us. But what if we put that list away for a few months and just go to God and say, "What can I do for you today? I'm here. I'm available if you need me". And I love to ask God, "What can I do for somebody else today"? And you can even think through the people you already know you're gonna be around and you know, what can you do? You can meet a need. You can give a compliment. You can pray. I mean, there's always something good that we can do for somebody else.

And Romans 12:21 says, "We overcome evil with good". So, if the devil has thrown a shot at you and hurt you in some way, the best way to get him back, the very best way to get him back is to just go be good to somebody else. I get God back every single day by doing just what I'm doing for what the devil did to me, I don't get God back. I get the devil back every single day for what he did to me when I was a child by just helping people, helping people. And boy, it makes you happy when you get your mind off yourself, and you help somebody else.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires and petitions of your heart". Ooh, I like that scripture. It's so much better to have God give it to you than to try to get it, isn't it? "Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on him]: trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in him and he will bring it to pass".

My brilliant mother-in-law, who's a long time ago gone home to be with the Lord, when Dave and I got married, she gave me a little white King James Bible and that was the scripture she wrote in the fly leaf. She didn't have any idea how much I was gonna need that because I had been hurt a lot and I was accustomed to depending on myself. And so, it was challenging for me to learn to let go of always trying to take care of myself and really totally trust God to come through for me. And so, I pray for you that you'll be able to enter the rest of God and that you got something today, that's gonna stick with you and help you in the future. We love you. We appreciate you watching today. Tune in again tomorrow for more of this. God bless you.