TRUST

It’s almost a cliché that people make God in their own image. He gets used a lot (often by people who know better) to justify all kinds of things that are contrary to His will. But that’s only one side of this topic. Another aspect of this has to do with people who may not realize that this “re-imaging of God” is happening to them & who just need to be aware of it so that they can begin to overcome it.

One of the challenges to those who want to surrender their lives to Christ, or who once walked with Him, is that they don’t believe that He will receive them. They feel that they aren’t good enough. That might be because of things they have done in their past, or even because of things have happened to them.

A challenge to those who already know the Lord & want to grow in that relationship is that they don’t trust Him enough to obey what they know He expects of them.

This is where the idea of making God over into our image can defeat even those who sincerely want His will for their lives.

When we know that we aren’t trustworthy or that people we have relied on have disappointed or hurt us, it’s easy to subconsciously believe that God is also untrustworthy. How do we overcome this obstacle to our faith? This is serious business, because we’re trapped by the idea that God can only be trusted to the extent that people can be. In our hearts, God has taken on the image of man.

If someone is willing to grow in their ability to trust God by being obedient to what they know His will is, their level of trust in God will grow. The old hymn is really true:

Trust & obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus but to trust & obey.

There’s no quick fix to this problem because it has taken time & probably hard experiences to become engrained into who we are. But there is a solution. It’s no more complicated than growing in our ability to trust God.

First, start with where you are. Admit your wrong perception of God to yourself & to Him. He already knows it anyway. He’s not intimidated by it.

Second, take the first little baby step. Be obedient to what you know God’s will is. You will find that in Scripture & thru the ways He confirms it (prayer, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, godly friends, biblical preaching & teaching, etc).

As you grow in your capacity to obey God’s will in small things, you’ll find your confidence in His trustworthiness will also grow. Remember, this is a growing experience that doesn’t happen in a short time.But the important things is the direction your life is taking. Remember: baby steps!