How To Trust God When You Are Afraid

It’s been almost 3 years since God laid it on my heart to do this blog. It wasn’t easy at first. And I wrestled with the task of trusting Him when I was afraid. I remember telling the Lord, “I don’t know what I am doing!” “What am I going to write about?”, “This can’t be what you are calling me to do for you, is it?” “How am I going to stand out from the rest of the blog’s that are out there?”

I was afraid like Jeremiah in the bible when he said to the Lord that he couldn’t do the task the Lord was asking him to do.

"Do not say, I am only a boy.  You must go everywhere I send you and say everything I tell you to say.  Don't be afraid of anyone I am with you, and I will protect you.  This message is from the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:7-8 ERV)

So I prayed for God to show me in his word what he wanted me to do with this blog. And he shows me Matthew 28: 19-20.

"Go and make followers of all people in the world.  Teach them to obey everything that I have told you to do.  You can be sure that I will be with you always.  I will continue with you until the end of time." (Matthew 28: 19-20 ERV)

A LOOK AT JEREMIAH’S STORY

Now let’s take a look at Jeremiah’s story and see why he was so afraid to trust God.

Jeremiah was a prophet who lived during a time of war.  Babylon was assembling troops against Judah.  And Jeremiah was sent by God to warn the people of Judah of the coming war.  But Jeremiah felt unqualified and inexperienced to carry such responsibility. And God told him to not be afraid. That he would put the words that he was to say to the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s mouth (Jeremiah 1: 9).

So for more than 20 years Jeremiah warned the people with God’s words!  In hopes that the people of Judah would renew their alliance with God.  But the people of Judah would not listen to him and because they were following worthless idols the people of Judah were going to be punished. And Babylon was going to take them into captivity.

I don’t know about you, but I would like to think I would have listened to Jeremiah if he was trying to warn me about a war that was about to happen. 

But you have to remember that these people had been living without God in their lives for a long time.  They had been living more like the world instead of living the way God wanted them to live. 

It must have been hard for Jeremiah. First, he didn’t want to do the task God had given him because he felt unqualified. Then when he finally decided to talk to the people of Judah they would not listen to him when he spoke. He must have been frustrated and wondered why he was even there. Can you relate to how Jeremiah must have felt?

CHOOSE TO DO IT AFRAID

God wants to hear about your frustrations. When you are upset with God or angry about something, God wants to hear about it. When things don’t make any sense to you and you feel unqualified. When everything seems to not be going your way and you wonder if you are ever going to catch a break.

Tell God exactly how you feel. He wants you to come to him for everything, big or small!

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

For a while, I had to repeat Proverbs 3:5-6 over and over every time I felt afraid or unqualified. Sometimes that was several times a day. But I kept repeating it. And finally one day my feelings caught up with my mind and I wasn’t afraid anymore.

I like this quote from Joyce Meyers in which she says “Do it afraid.” Sometimes you will have to do that. Sometimes you must choose to do it afraid even when your feelings don’t match up.

Jeremiah chose to listen to God. He chose to do it afraid. And he chose to do what God wanted him to do even though he thought he couldn’t do it. And God gave him the strength and the words to speak for over 20 years. God will not leave you hanging in the dark. He is there to take care of you. And you must trust that he will.

A PRAYER TO HELP WITH TRUSTING GOD

Heavenly Father, I am going to choose to trust you.  Open my eyes and ears to hear and see your truths and your ways for my life.  Teach me to do your will and to have the courage to do it even when I am afraid.  I thank you for all that you are doing in and through me. I Love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

CONCLUSION

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