faith. trust.

iv been talking a lot as of late about trust...willing devotion to God. surrendering our wills to that of His. it is something that has been hitting me really hard lately, in art because lately i have really sucked at it. iv been drawn to the Psalms, and yet again i have been pushed, convicted, confronted, you name it....i have been challenged to search and dig.

i heard a sermon on this Psalm by Rob Bell once, and it has never left my mind....but, if i am completely honest i think it has my heart. turn to Psalm 77 and join me.

i remember Bell talking about the anger expressed by the Psalmist here, his frustration with God for His lack of action. verse 4 jumped out at me in relation to what the writer says in verses 7-9.

You keep my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.

here we see that it was hard for the writer to find words to fully describe how he felt, despite the thoughts being there. wow. how often do i feel like that. i struggle to find the words to describe what is going on around me, and the thoughts running through my head.

even more in relation to verses 7-9, check out 11-12. see, in verses 7-9 the writer is not asking every day questions. he is really questioning God, His character, His very nature. this guy is obviously ticked off. but he made a choice.

remember
meditate
consider

what did he do these things with? the deeds, miracles, works.......not of man, but of God. the writer was faced with hardships, and yet he chose to look back at all that the LORD had done, and in that found hope.

then with that idea in mind, check out what he says in verses 16-18. here he speaks of the responses of creation in relation to Him, and they were extravagant, not simple. God is clearly sovereign over all these things. it is His hands, His Will that causes the winds to blow, the waves to crash, the thunder to crack, and the lightning to flash.

it seems to me that the Psalmist is painting us a picture of a great truth. not just in these verses, but through out the entire Psalm. if God, the Creator, is truly sovereign over creation.....is He not even more capable of providing for us? is He not worthy of our trust and devotion?

i had to do something after i read this. i wrote down different attributes of God, who He is.

full of love
always present everywhere
merciful and gracious
forgiving of His children
jealous of anything other than Him we give our devotion to
holy and pure
just
righteous
faithful
true
all knowing
the Creator
daddy and Father
constant
trustworthy
knows best for all
infinite, without beginning or end
all powerful

the list could go on and on. bottom line, we will never with our finite minds be able to fully comprehend or describe in full who He is. but one thing is clear....

He is more than capable.

the creator and controller of all that we see is fully capable of handling our lives. so what does this mean?

faith. trust. it is that simple. it is letting Him take control of all we have, all that we are. picture a little girl with her father. pure, un-doubting trust....it is that simple. it is not complex like i often make it in my life. it is simple. faith. trust.

my mind jumped to Psalm 51:17. God wants a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. it is that simple. it is us putting our wills and desires aside in turn for His. but it is not just trading wills and desires, it is completely trading seats. see, we often have the mindset of leading our lives. but God has something radically different in mind. it is He who leads, and us who follow.

faith. trust.

we have to realize that nothing we have is ours. it is His. we have to realize that whatever we do is destined for failure. but with Him leading, with us following His Will, nothing can stop us in the end. it reminds me of when Jesus spoke, that what is impossible with man is possible with God. but it takes more than just saying "yes LORD" also. it takes actively seeking Him and His Will for your life. it takes willingly giving up the drivers seat, and sliding over.

faith. trust.

He has proven Himself worthy time and time again, not that He ever needed to. the one who created you, who formed you in the womb and knows you better than you do yourself. the one who created all that we see and hear with His very Word....He is more than capable of leading you. all it takes is faith, trust. it is that simple.