Trusting God With The People You Love
Your Nightly Prayer
This entry helps you release loved ones into God’s capable hands.
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22
SOMETHING TO PONDER
Trusting in the Lord – truly trusting – is one of the most challenging aspects of being a Christian. Oh, we say we trust – and we give it to Him in prayer – but then take the worry right back, as if we could control it. This dilemma seems to apply with even greater intensity to our family, to our children.
A dear friend who truly loves the Lord recently described the challenge she feels. She said it is as if she hands one end of a stick to the Lord and says, “Here, Lord, I give it to you.” But before long, the Lord will say, “Dear child, you must let go of the other end.” She said she simply could not let it all go and release it to God.
Can you relate? We hold on to the end of whatever stick we give Him, somehow feeling we need to maintain some degree of…something. “These are my children! My family! I would give my own life for them! I just can’t let go.” Is it that we feel we know what’s best – or we’re here to help them through whatever it is? Maybe we need to feel needed.
Perhaps the real problem is that, deep in our hearts, we may trust to give it to the Lord, but what we don’t trust – what we fear – is that His outcome may not meet our desires. We ask the Lord to do our will, rather than giving in to His will. As is so common, our true prayer is for His outcome to match our own wishes. Whatever the reason, many—perhaps most—of us seem to really struggle letting go of the other end of the stick.
Perhaps we need to ask ourselves – who is really in the best control here? In any situation, who is better suited to take care of our family and do what is best for them? Us? Or God? Maybe our ego and pride need to take a back seat.
One thing we must recognize is that we cannot get there without Him. We can believe that God knows what is best for our family, but we live in this world, and letting go of whatever control we think we might have can be very difficult, perhaps impossible on our own for some of us. We need His strength. We need His Holy Spirit to bring us the peace needed to leave it all in His hands.
Knowing this, knowing that God is in control, we need to let go of our anxiety over the situation. We need to release the other end of the stick because that is what is best. for our family and for us. And when we simply cannot do it despite what we know to be true, then we must turn to the Holy Spirit and ask for the help to get out of the way. After all, we can let go because God never will.
This does not mean you are suddenly uninvolved or cast aside - it simply means you have turned over outcomes to the One stronger and more in control than we could ever be. We then let Him guide our steps, our words, and our actions. We follow the Lord’s leading and not our own – despite the strong desires otherwise.
In Psalm 55, David reassures us that the Lord will sustain – He will give us the support, strength, and endurance we need to continue to endure whatever the situation. Yet, it is ours to cast our cares on Him – and trust Him with them. While this doesn’t mean that He will always keep bad things from happening, it certainly does mean that He will see us through whatever might happen.
We can know – really know – that God will stay close to us and give us the grace and strength to see us through. Our peace is not found in our control – but in the God that holds us.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father, thank you for always being there for my family. I know that you are in control and my family could never be in better hands, including, maybe especially, my own. Help me to overcome my reluctance to let go. Help me to leave it all in your hands. Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
Head. We need to remind ourselves that His ways are always better than our ways, and that He cares for us and knows what is best.
Heart. We must let our head knowledge sink into our hearts. Set our pride aside and surrender it all to Him. On our own, we may fall short – but He never will.
Act. Resist the urge to step in as we think is right, yet be there for them if and when needed, following the Lord’s lead, even if we are uncertain of the outcome.
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Andreas Dress
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.
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