(Today’s post comes from a radiant young woman – and dear friend of mine – Allie Haven. Allie discusses what it truly means to follow that famous verse “trust in the Lord with all your heart”, and tells of her own experiences seeking this very thing – trusting what God has to say. You can learn more about Allie and connect with her on her personal blog. Enjoy, ladies! – A.)
*Photo Credit: Unknown
As the verse goes: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to Him and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust. Such a simple five letter word and yet so full of weight. Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. I don’t know about you, but that advice seems to go against every fiber of my being. Most of the time I feel that I can’t lean on anyone but myself. I know what’s best, I know what I want out of life, I know how to navigate the world. “I am woman, hear me roar!”
Or not.
So many times I look back to when my path started to veer off course, crashed and then burned right before my very eyes. It usually comes down to a fork, and by fork I mean a fork in the road. You know what I’m talking about. The forks that pop up and give you two options – either do what you want, or trust that still small voice in your heart that is gently leading and guiding you.
I am here today to admit that I very rarely want to listen to that still small voice. I sometimes find myself so overcome with emotions or feelings that I am convinced that I am right and that it is my way or the highway. It’s that power struggle I cling to that makes me want to control every situation, every outcome, every response in my life. Which, needless to say, is impossible and also a tad crazy. Yet, I still fight to be in ultimate control. Especially when my back is up against the wall and I want to have a say in the final outcome. But more often than not, I should not be the one calling the shots. I am terrible at making decisions when the pressure is all on my shoulders. The what-ifs tend to cloud my judgement, making it virtually impossible to think clearly and logically.
*Photo Credit: Unknown
So then what do I do? Swallowing my pride, I know that I have to do what I hate to do most. I have to admit my failure and not just to anyone, but to God. I have to turn to the One true Author of my life, the One who knows the path ahead of me and tell him how much I cannot do this alone. It’s difficult to surrender sometimes, and may even seem impossible, but I know that if I try to tackle life alone and on my own terms I am predestined to fail, and fail miserably at best.
So in times of decision making, whether big or small, I have learned to turn to God in every situation. I know that to come out on the other side of life’s storms, I need to entrust him with my future, regardless of the outcome so that He may take my hand, calm my fears and lead the way. He is glorified in our trust and in our ability to hand over our lives completely to Him. More often than not, I cling to control as a means to feel grounded in the uncertainties of life. But even when I try to call the shots I know that I am never promised a perfect outcome. So I have learned after countless attempts to fly the plane that I must sit back and let the One who designed the plane be the pilot, or else if I try to fly it, the whole plane will go up in a cloud of smoke. Learn to trust the pilot of your life. Let Him take control so that you can sit back and enjoy the ride; it’s a beautiful journey to travel together and you won’t be disappointed!
