Power of Trusting

Power of Trusting
Exodus 4:1-5
Tamika Brown

This week’s prayer focus is Trust. Trusting what God is doing and where God is leading us.

This scripture is interesting because although we find Moses, this is the fourth chapter, and we have seen Moses going on his journey. He has seen the burning bush and other signs but he gets here in these opening verses of chapter 4, and something as seemingly simple as going before the people as directed by God and Moses was like what if they don’t believe?

When we think about trust we often think about an external situation. We often think about trusting other people; we think about the trust that we have to place in the people who care for our loved ones, who teach our children who pastor our churches, etc. I believe that the challenge for us is in fact, internal trust. The trust that we have in ourselves, which translates out of the trust that we have in God. Stay with me.

We get so caught up in doubt and distrust that we stray away from our purpose. If we are not at ease in ourselves, how are we meant to be at ease in the world? If we do not trust our own hearts and minds how then do we expect to trust others? How then can we move FULLY in God’s purpose without the power of trust?

We hear a lot about past trauma, past hurts and all the things that we bundle up and carry with us each day. Some of us may have shoebox sized bundles while others of us may have U-Haul trucks filled with bundles of hurt and pain and disappointment and denial. No matter the size though, these past experiences and trauma inherently causes us not to trust.

One thing that I think we have to do is unpack. We have to unpack all the things that have hurt us, all the things that have caused us to doubt ourselves, we have to believe that we are meant for greater.

After we unpack, we need to sort. After we unpack these traumas and these hurts and these disappointments, we need to really sort through to figure out what those things are. And not just determine what they are but also what impact they have had on us.

Some impacts leave just a small injury. Like when we cut our finger and don’t realize it until we’re in the shower and get soaped up really good and that’s when we realize oh my goodness, I hurt myself! So, we acknowledge that there is a hurt, but we also know it is not keeping us from moving forward. Others leave deep wounds, the kind that hold us back. The ones that we carry and into every relationship, situationship and opportunity. These wounds hinder our power to trust.

After we unpack after we sort, then we have to put away. This is the actionable item; this is the work that helps us develop our power to trust. Whether it is putting away laundry, or unpacking, and putting away after your trip - there is always something “ugh” about putting the things where they belong! Not just piling them up on the bed or stuffing them in the closet. Only when we put things where they belong are we truly able to say that we’ve put them away, that we have dealt with them.

This is how trust works. It does not function in a state of “out of sight, out of mind”. Until we know that we know that we know, we walk around pretending. We walk around micro aggressing or blatantly hurting other people. We put smiles on our faces while hiding knives in our hands and on our tongues - all because we do not possess the power of trust.

When we do not put our faith in God, when we do not pray for the strength to push past doubt, we limit God’s ability to work through us. When we do not possess the power of trust we cannot live nor love freely or fully. And this is what God wants. God wants us to shatter the walls we build up because we think they keep us safe. God wants us to unpack our hurt and shame and trauma so that we may place it at God’s feet.

The power of trusting makes us free. Trusts allows us to spend more time doing the things that we love doing, the things that bring us joy. On this a Lenten journey, and each day let us try trusting just a little bit more. Let us trust in our gifts, let us trust the steps that have been ordered by God for us.

Prayer
God, my God. As we journey, help us be strengthened in you. Help us Lord, to trust. Amen.
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