TRUSTING GOD: 5 STRATEGIES FOR WHEN LIFE IS HARD (PT. 2) -- Pastor David Tsai

​Trusting God Strategy #3: REMEMBER GOD’S CHARACTER
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21)
We grow in our trust in God by actively calling to mind God’s faithful, steadfast character. We must call three specific things to mind on a regular basis: first, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Second, the mercies of the Lord never come to end and are new every morning. And thirdly, great is God’s faithfulness. The combination of God’s steadfastness, faithfulness, and constant mercy compels us to trust God.
Here’s the key. If we’re going to succeed in trusting God, we must actively and constantly call to mind these truths about God. It’s not enough to just know them, like I know that 2 + 2 = 4 and that kale tastes gross. I must engage my mind with these truths. With God’s character in mind, I’m able to trust God even when things don’t make sense.
Charles Spurgeon said: “Let us lean on God with all our weight. Let us throw ourselves on His faithfulness as we do on our beds, bringing all our weariness to His dear rest.”

Trusting God Strategy #4: RECALL GOD’S PAST FAITHFULNESS
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
This verse says that God is absolutely unchanging. From everlasting to everlasting, He is God. Period. He never shifts, never changes, never fluctuates. If God never changes, and He has been faithful to us in the past, then we can be absolutely sure that He will be faithful to us in the future.
In His faithfulness, He has sustained us through all kinds of trials, toils, and snares from the moment we were born. Because God never changes, His past faithfulness is a guarantee of His future faithfulness. We can be sure that God will continue to sustain us, to uphold us, and to shepherd us to green pastures.
Yes, God has indeed held us fast, and He will continue to do so. For this reason, trusting God in the midst of trials is truly possible.

Trusting God Strategy #5: PRAY FOR FAITH
 “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:5-6)
Trusting God is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. Even if we know all the truths above, the Holy Spirit must empower us to take hold of them by faith. We need the Holy Spirit to move these glorious truths from our head to our heart. Otherwise, trusting God will be impossible for us.
We must consistently and constantly pray that God would enable us to trust Him, even when life doesn’t make sense. We need God’s help to wait patiently for Him.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Yes, we are called to actively put our trust in God. We must work at trusting God. At the same time, God must empower us to obey. We pray and we also obey. Because we know that He’s good, faithful, steadfast and ready to give us grace, we can trust Him with our whole heart. As Charles Spurgeon put it: “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”