4 Areas that We Struggle to Trust God

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."

Isaiah 26:3-4, NIV

Trust can be such a hard thing to give to someone. Sometimes we even know we should trust them, but we trip over our own insecurities when we try to give it up. It is tightly intertwined with our experiences and knowing who someone is or things they have done in the past. Our ability to trust God can be affected in those same ways. We even tend to try to compartmentalize the parts of our life we will trust to Him and which ones we cannot. However, as a follower of Christ, we are called to trust our Heavenly Father in ALL areas. James 4:7 (ESV) says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Have you put full trust in God for all areas of your life?

1. Our Career and Finances

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19, NIV

This can be a very tough one for some people. I struggled a lot to give God my full trust and control of my career. In my mind, I was thinking that if God really loved me, He would help me reach the dream job that I was praying for. But the reality is that God has a plan for your life, including your career, that He will guide you to. And if you are like me, that career may even change over time. As believers we should be ready and willing to give our career to a Heavenly Father who has a beautiful plan for us, which will inevitably be much better than what we originally had in mind.

With our career comes the topic of our money. A sensitive topic that gives people a lot of anxiety and/or protectiveness. After all, it is our “hard earned money”, right? Human instinct is to want to use what we have earned, in the way we want to spend it. However, from a Biblical perspective, that money is a blessing from God. As a matter of fact, all our resources we are blessed with are from a Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can imagine. Malachi 3:10 (NIV) says, “ ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” In response to God’s blessings and faithfulness we should be willingly to give our resources back for His purposes. And the best part is, that when we do, He will bless us even more as we trust Him with what He provides in the first place. I know this, because I have experienced it myself, over and over again.

2. Our Fear and Worry

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7, NIV

Life will inevitably bring a wide range of fears and worries. Any time things are unstable or we are unsure about a circumstance, our mind can wander to fear and worry. Even worse, it can cycle through our brain over and over again until we can redirect our thoughts. Fear or worry can be a great instinct to bring our attention to things that we need to tend to. But it is not healthy for us to dwell on anything. Remember that God calls us to release the fear and worry to Him. It is not wrong to feel these emotions, but we are called to pray to Him, placing those emotions into the hands of the Creator. Sometimes we may even need to pray over and over again for the strength to let go. And that’s ok.

Sometimes we do not internalize the emotions, but instead lean too much into others around us. Having a spouse or a friend to lean on is a good thing to have; a blessing given by God. However, I have found, at times, that I leaned too much on my husband in a way that is not his role to fill. We cannot place our full hope and trust in another person. They cannot fill the place of your Heavenly Father. God’s grace covers over our human nature. He is faithful to hear our cries; sharing His overwhelming peace and wisdom as often as we need it. 

For more about worry, read these Bible verses to help you worry less and trust God more.

3. Our Parenting

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him."

Psalm 127:3, NIV

 "Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands!

If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever."

Deuteronomy 5:29, NLT

Parenting is tough. It brings out emotions and stress in you that you never thought you would have. I am only about 4 years into parenting and there are so many things that I instinctively try to control. As a Stay-at-home Mom I am in charge of everything for my kids day to day as the primary caregiver and it can be overwhelming. However, I have also been a working Mom previously and know that it also brings its own challenges. From conversations with my husband, I am aware of the specific struggles that he faces as a Dad and wanting to be a good parent. You love them so much, you care about them so much, and you take on the weight of everything they need as well as who they are to become.

However, we are not meant to carry this burden on our own. Even as a married couple, my husband and I are not meant to carry the weight of this on our combined backs alone. Like every other area in our life we need to remember that our children are a blessing from God. They are His children, loved by Him and called to His purposes just like we are. So as we pursue God in our own lives, our parenting should always be an area where we seek God’s wisdom, strength, and direction. Lift the weight of parenting onto Him, because He asks us to. And then we must be prepared to follow His lead, not trying to chase the appearance of perfection, but in a way that shows our children where we receive grace, forgiveness and love.

4. Our Future

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

"Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed."

Proverbs 16:3, NLT

We all have plans, dreams and hopes for our future. I had a dream career and plans to succeed. I assumed God would want me to get exactly what I was dreaming of. That dream did not work out. As a matter of fact, even the “back up plan”, which I fought for a little while, happened for only a few years before things changed again. It is not wrong to have plans. It is not wrong to dream or hope for things in your future. But do not hold so tightly to those desires that you miss what God is calling you to. Do not fight the will of God, because if I had continued to do so, I would not have many of the blessings that I have received along this path God has guided me. 

Maybe instead of having a plan that you are struggling to let go of, you are struggling with a feeling of wandering aimlessly. Sometimes, especially when one aspect of our lives does not go as anticipated, we can feel completely lost at the idea of where to turn to next. The absence of a strong dream or desire can make us feel inadequate to those around us who seem to be striving for such lofty goals and ambitions. Whether you feel completely lost without a plan or have a plan for your future that you want so badly it hurts, trust that God has a plan and purpose for us all. His plan is greater than anything we can imagine and we should pray to continuously keep our heart open to His path for our lives.

Casey Wayne

Monthly Contributor