Trusting God When it Doesn't Make Sense

You've been waiting on a promise from God and it seems as if you've been in a long waiting period, only to realize that what you were believing God to bring to pass didn't come through. You prayed, fasted, been faithful in the little areas, and managed to keep the faith even when doubt would make its way in but still ended up in disappointment? Or maybe you're still waiting on God to do what He's promised you and you daily ask yourself silently in your heart, what's the point of getting your hopes up?

You feel let down and betrayed by God. You feel ridiculous for believing that God would come through how and when you thought He would as time went by. Disappointments hurt but they don't last long. We've all been there and we wish we hadn't. Disappointments are ways of God trying to get your attention and speak to your heart.

Your disappointment is God's redirection.

What happened may have been unexpected to you but it's not to God. He is all knowing. He's the God of the beginning and end, past, present, and future. Sometimes God allows certain things to happen (or not happen) to redirect you in another way that's better (Isaiah 55:8). Our disappointments to Him are His ways of redirection and His perfect opportunity to display His faithfulness and glory. Sometimes God's plan involve heartbreak, long patient seasons, loss, and betrayal. Though you may be hurting and disappointed, you are still in His will. Though His word doesn't promise a life without those things, it does promise that He will use all things in our life to turn around for our good (Romans 8:28); but it requires the willingness to stick with His plan in order to see it through.

When things don't go the way you expected them to, doesn't mean that they're not going the way God planned. "Then why doesn't He just let me in on His plans?" you ask. Trusting in God is being willing to trust in Him without knowing the details. If He let you in on the plans He had for you, you'd be doing everything in your power to run from it and prevent them from happening or trying to do it your way and you wouldn't need to trust Him.

Though you may be hurting and disappointed, you are still in His will.

Dare to worship Him in the midst of your situation. Dare to praise and declare His goodness. It won't make your problem go away or the outcome to come faster but it will silence its power to take away your joy that is found in Him. It will bring peace in the chaos of your storm. Dare to trust Him despite your emotions. Too often we tie our emotions to trusting in God but truth of the matter is this; we don't trust God when we feel like it, we trust God because it's innate. Your worship to God is true when it's not determined by your circumstances. Our worship is a response that drives our focus off of our problems to the One who is in control and all knowing.

Where is your heart?

If God gave you the thing you so desperately needed, would it replace Him as an idol in your life? If He didn't give it to you, would you still consider Him good and faithful? Would you still worship and praise Him or is God only convenient for when you ask something from Him? Often times we expect God to give us what when we want but He doesn't always work that way. He won't give you something knowing that you still have to go through a process in order to receive the promise or if He knows it'll replace Him. He's a jealous God for your heart and He loves you too much to give you something that will damage what He's planned or something you can't handle. So before you play the blame game with God ask yourself, is my hope in what I was hoping God to do or is my hope in God? Don't allow your disappointments to define God. Allow them to challenge and reveal the idols in your heart and repurify you.

"For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:6)

It's terrifying to lay down what you have planned in exchange for an unknown future but your unknown future is in the hands of a known God. Lay down what you had planned in mind and the surprise circumstance in front of you, and yield to Jesus. Your faith in Him will not be put to shame. He blesses those who patiently wait, trust, and lean on Him. Invite Him back in your heart. Let Him be the King of your life again and place your desires back in His hands where they're safe. Dare to trust Him, you won't be disappointed in the future.

Go ahead and cry beloved. It doesn't make you weak, it makes you strong and human. Allow the disappointment to bring you closer to Him. Allow the disappointment and waiting to lead you to worship and praise Him. Psalms 139 says, "all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be"(Psalms 139:16). Give Him your cares for He cares for you. He's holding your today and your tomorrow. God is not done writing your story, just stay close to Him and watch in His timing how He will make it all make sense.

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Dear Father,

I pray for the girl reading this post including myself. I pray that you comfort her during this time of heartache, loss, and desperation. I pray and thank You in advance that You are healing her heart as she reads these words. I pray that you help her to see that what happened is not a disappointment but a way of your redirection of Your best and more. May you touch her heart and help her to see that you have not forgotten or forsaken her, but rather that You love and care for her. Restore and increase her faith Lord. Help her to know that it's okay for her to trust You again because You won't disappoint those whom You love and have put their trust in You. As she moves forward in a step of faith, may her trust in You deepen and touch others that will cross paths with her. May she rest in You knowing that the details of her life is in Your hands and that You still have great plans for her. May you restore her heart to be ready for the surprises You have in store for her life. I pray that she surrenders her life and yields to You. May You develop her trust in You to be an echo of her love for You. In Your faithful name Jesus, Amen.