Trust in the Lord

This seems to be the theme of my Lent this year.  I haven't been tested on it (yet) but the Lord has definitely been throwing that message at me a lot lately.  I try not to imagine what it is He is preparing me for :)

I just finished two great books on trusting God with your love story and your marriage.  Both books are by Eric and Leslie Ludy and are very much worth reading.  Okay, so the second book is on the mushy side, but if you love a great love story, you'll love the book "When Dreams Come True".  

Now I am on to "God's Smuggler", the story about the missionaries who trust God for absolutely everything.  I'm about 1/3 of the way through and it is a very engaging read.

I've also been reading a little bit of the book "The Passion of Christ and the Sorrow of God" each day.  It, too, has been addressing that same topic of trusting in the Lord and just focusing on doing His Will.  In this passage, the author talks about God's Will and the sacrament of the moment, a key point if you are going to trust in God:

Let us try then, during this Lent, to learn this lesson from our Lord's agony:  the love of God's will, the sacrament of the present moment.  It is not a question of feelings, of never being sad at what God sends us:  we are not to try to be greater than Christ himself.  It is a question of learning to see all events, even the smallest, for what they most deeply are:  Steps in the story of God's love for man.

There are some great points here that make trusting completely in God a lot easier.  They are:

1.  Live in the present moment.  If all you have to do is focus on the NOW and not the past or the future, then trusting in God becomes a lot more doable.  

2.  Remember that God loves us, more than anyone and more than we can comprehend. He loves us beyond words.  No matter what happens, no matter how bleak it looks, God loves us and always wants what is best for us.  Remembering that in our most trying times will definitely make it easier to trust in the Lord.

3.  Nowhere does it say that we must be ecstatic when God sends us trials.  All He asks is that we trust in Him and accept His will for us at that moment.

It is so easy to sit here and type this and nod my head in agreement; even embrace all that I have read and written.  However, when the time of great trial comes, whether it be for the world in general or something specific to my life, will I be able to hang on to those ideals?  Will my faith be strong enough to weather the storm?

I think that is why God sends us these study sessions ahead of time.  If we read and accept and try to put these ideas into action during the little trials of every-day life, then when the big storms come, hopefully we can do a better job of letting go and letting God.