Trusting God in a Time of Transition

The Lord calls us to have faith and lean on him. It is not through our own works that gets us through hardships. God is the ROCK and solid ground that we must rest our feet. His hand is their for us to hold, and we just need to reach out and grab His hand. As we tread through the uncertainty of our current transition in the church, we must live in light of the fear of the Lord in all aspects. 

Proverbs 3:1-12 (ESV):
¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, ² for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
³ Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. ⁸ It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; ¹⁰ then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.  
¹¹ My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, ¹² for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

 
Isn't this so true?
We see in these 6 sections a call to act in Wisdom and then we see the grounds for doing so.
God instructs us to remember His commandments to us and bind them to our hearts. We need to value His Word. Doing so will add years to our life. How? Through peace. Having peace that God is in control removes any anxiety, and the length of enjoyment in our lives will be exponentially increased. Only God knows how many days are numbered in our lives, so we must trust in Him...which gives us peace.
 
"Steadfast Love and Faithfulness" - Some versions use "mercy" and "truth", but the ESV uses "steadfast". God's Love and Faithfulness are steadfast. It is unwavering and absolute, and He will never be swayed. How can we never forget His unwavering love and faithfulness to us? We wear it tight to our chest like a necklace so that we never lose it and are always in possession of it. We engrave it into our hearts. Through this, we can wholeheartedly trust in God's will for our lives, for our church, and for our families.
 
Continuing in this, we must trust with ALL our heart. We must DEEPLY rely on Him. God doesn't want us to be lukewarm and shaky in our commitments. The only way to weather a strong storm is to lean on His steadfast love and faithfulness, and not on our own perception or desires. Of course, we want a strong leader and shepherd for our flock, but God has a plan that is set in motion. Once we humble ourselves and acknowledge His overall control, and faithfully TRUST, then our path will straightly align with His plan.
 
We can't let our perception of wisdom blind us from seeing the Lord's plan in our lives. We need to submit and fear the Lord. Evil in our lives can mean many things, but one aspect of evil is the temptation to regard our personal wisdom as greater than God's. God only makes our paths straight once we fear him and turn from evil.
 
Next, we see that we must honor God in all we do. He wants the best, the initial first fruits of our labor. This is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. God is giving us a promise here. Placing our faith in Him and trusting that He has inexhaustible resources. Giving to God is a form of worship to Him. Giving to God honors him through our generosity. When doing so, we are realizing and acknowledging that God is the great provider and that all our needs will be met. In Malachi 3:10, God is asking to be proven wrong. He says "Bring the full tithe..and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need". Give to Him in faith, and He will always pour out His abundant love on us...We may not know how we will pay our next bill. We may not know how our needs will be met. We may not know who our next pastor is. But submitting and giving faithfully to God throughout our entire being demonstrates our understanding that He is in control of our lives. God wants our giving to Him to be a form of worship. We are revering Him in everything we do and earn. Not everyone can give monetarily, but God just wants us to submit and be trusting in Him.
 
Finally, we must not fear the discipline or chastening from the Lord. We must not fear or be anxious about the correction that God gives us in our lives. God will only chasten those who are the children of God. This is how we know that He loves us. I love my children, but I correct them so that they may learn from their mistakes and, prayerfully, pursue a life that is guided by their unwavering faith in Christ...Don't get me wrong, punishment can be very uncomfortable for us, embarrassing even. But God does it out of love. His form of correction comes in many ways. He uses His discipline to highlight the areas in our lives where we are falling short. Discipline allows us to face our mistakes, grow stronger in Him, and press on toward the mark...all while drawing closer to the Lord.
 
Therefore, as challenges arise in our lives, and the struggle seems too insurmountable, let us remember that the Lord is steadfast in his faithfulness and love toward us. He uses the difficult situations and trials in our lives to refine us into sharpened tools that work according to His will.
We may not know what tomorrow will bring, but we have faith and we trust in the plan that God has in our lives and in our Church. So please, continue to pray and grow closer to what God has for your lives by digging into His Word and giving your time and heart to Him.
 
May “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;  the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”