Most of us are quite reliable people, and most of us have that one person we can rely on no matter what. My husband is one such person. I can rely on him on just about anything, the good, the bad and the ugly. I know that if there is only one person in the world that I can rely on to always be there for me, it is my husband.
But what about when it comes to God? How reliable are we when it comes to depending and relying on God for the good, the bad and the ugly?
A reliability meter
I find that sometimes I have a reliability meter when it comes to God. I know that for me as a person, I am quite reliable. My co-workers, my boss, my friends all know that if they needed to rely on me to get something done, it will get done. But when the reliability is turned back onto me to God, I find it goes up and down. This is maybe because sometimes, I can be quite selfish in my thinking.
I may think everything is about me, and what I want and not feel like I want to rely on God to provide these things to me. I sometimes feel my reliability on God is based on my own feelings and that I learned, is not the way when it comes to trusting God.
Relying on God should not be based on emotion, but rather be a conscious effort
I learned that it doesn't matter if I am going through a tough time or a great time, relying on God should not be based on my feelings. It should be steady and concrete, and should not waver. As it says in James 1 verse 6 "But ask in faith, not doubting anything. For he that doubts is like the wave of the sea which is driven of the wind and is tossed from one side to another."
I should try to make a conscious effort to rely on God and trust in Him. For the most part of this year, my husband and I have been through some trying times. We both had to grow and learn and rely upon God more than ever. Even though there were days when I didn't "feel" like relying on God and trusting that He is allowing us to grow stronger, I made the conscious effort to believe that and every day, as my reliance in God increased, my anxiety, feelings of unjust and worry just melted away.
My burdens were lifted in trusting and relying on God. Like in Psalm 55 verse 22 it says, "Turn your burdens over to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will never let the righteous person stumble."
Why and how do we rely on God?
I learned that relying on God not only took my burdens away, God sustained me. By relying on God, you become full of faith and therefore deemed righteous in the sight of God. And God never lets the righteous stumble. He declares us His children and as His children, God will not let us be stumbled. He will test us and put us through fire to make us stronger, but He will never leave and forsake us and let us go through it alone.
If we can trust our parents, our spouse to provide us with food, clothes and shelter, people who are imperfect, what more a perfect God who loves us as children. Will He not provide these things for us and more?
God is our rock, our Salvation
Sometimes, we may think it's hard to rely and trust in God, because he may seem so far away, so distant. And sometimes when we pray, we can ask ourselves, is He even listening? But the truth is, He is. He is always listening and He is always ready to take us through whatever He has brought us to. As in says again in Psalms 18 verse 2, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my Savior, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the strength of my salvation, my stronghold".
As my husband and I went through a fiery year, we are here celebrating our 2nd anniversary (11.11.12) and because of what we went through together, we are now prepared to rely on God for the rest that is to come.
We know the next few years is going to be hard, preparing for a house, starting a family and finding our footing in our careers, but we will rely on God and He will take us through. Faith is all we have, and with faith, we can conquer anything.
Clarissa Yates is from Singapore but moved to live in Perth, Western Australia in 2008. Clarissa completed a BSc. in Molecular Biology at the University of Western Australia and is now working as a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Western Australia, where she is part of a research team studying therapies for lung cancer.
Clarissa Yates previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/clarissa-yates.html