Temptations come so that hidden passions may be revealed and so that it will be possible to fight them, and so that the soul may be rid of them. They are also a sign of God’s mercy. So give yourself with trust into God’s hands and ask his help, so that he will strengthen you in your struggle. God knows how much each one can bear and allows temptations according to the measure of our strength. Remember that after temptation comes spiritual joy, and that the Lord protects them that endure temptations and suffering for the sake of His love.
~St. Nektarius of Aegina
With the merciful You show Yourself merciful; with the blameless man You show Yourself blameless; with the purified You show Yourself pure; and with the crooked You make yourself seem tortuous. For You save a humble people, but the haughty eyes You bring down. For it is You who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?— the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand supported me, and Your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed. I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet. For You equipped me with strength for the battle; You made those who rise against me sink under me. You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed. They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets. You delivered me from strife with the people; You made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me. As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me. Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
~ David, a man after G_d’s own heart, in Psalm 18
Oh beloved, it is true.
There is a place in life for us to quit trusting. But, we have absolutely got to make sure that we are revoking trust from the right party. Usually, when things start to go wrong, we are quickly tempted to blame G_d for things coming apart.
Oh yes, He can be blamed for the change in our circumstances, but to put Him on trial for our mistrust is a terrible sin. G_d is able to overcome our doubts, but they are decimating to us and our peace.
Can we see it?
It is not that we are displeasing to G_d, when we don’t trust Him (though this can be true). It is that trust is so empowering to us, and that G_d is already wanting to give us what we need. He is delighted when we can go whistling in the dark – knowing that His Light is coming in the near dawn.
This fool of a writer has been pushed to the very edge of the world and well beyond the edge of credulity in his pursuit of trusting the Trustworthy One. May i share something? HE HAS NEVER LET ME DOWN. NOT FOR ONE NANOSECOND HAS G_D LET ME DOWN.
So, are you struggling with believing G_d for something big in your life? You cannot trust Him too much! Let Him show up and show off in your life beloved. He is worthy of your trust. And, the more we trust, the less we are bothered by so many other things in life, too.
Tonight is your night. Time to trust Him more than you ever have!
He that willingly submits to the cross, to him its whole burden is changed into a sweet assurance of divine comfort. And the more the flesh is broken down by the cross, the more the spirit is strengthened by inward grace. It is not in man by nature to bear the cross, to love the cross, to deny self, to bring the body into subjection, and willingly to endure suffering. If you look to yourself, you can accomplish nothing of all this. But if you trust in the Lord, strength shall be given you from heaven, and the world and the flesh shall be made subject to your rule. Set yourself, therefore, to bear manfully the cross of your Lord, who out of love was crucified for you.
~Thomas a’Kempis
