Trusting God with our Hearts

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovely ladies!
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Since there is no avoiding the dangling red and pink heart decorations today, I thought I should just go ahead and write about them.
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Write about our hearts, that is. It doesn’t matter whether you are in a relationship or not – trusting God with your heart will always be of utmost importance.
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For the record, never doubt God’s sense of humor. I’m really writing to myself, because this last week has been very difficult for me to trust God. My emotions skyrocketed for no particular reason, and I paid way too much attention to them, per usual.
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What makes it difficult for you to trust God with your heart – with your dreams and hopes and future, and even the confused and hurting pieces?
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Is it your dreams themselves – ones you don’t want to give up; ones you’re afraid to let go? Is it your rollercoaster emotions? Distrust of trust? Not knowing if God is really trustworthy? Fear of being hurt, again?
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It has been, and still is, all those things for me.
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I’m afraid that if I let go of my claims on my life and heart, the things I want to happen won’t happen. I’m afraid God won’t actually come through for me; that I could create my life better than the one who actually created my life.

But clinging to control doesn’t work very well, either. It’s a burden too heavy for me to bear, and one I was never meant to carry. I wind up stressed, tired, and anxious.

Have you ever seen a little one determined to help their parents carry something? “I’ve got it, Daddy, I’ve got it,” they insist, staggering under the weight of the milk jug. They’re weaving all over the grocery store aisle, and the smarter ones will relinquish the milk by the end of it, watching in awe as their father easily picks it up. It’s easy for their father to carry, but it was never meant for a three-year-old.

Likewise, we can’t even carry the weight of our own hearts. The control that we so desperately want brings with it fear, worries, and frustration. Have you noticed this? I know that I have.

Trusting is choosing to believe that God knows what He’s doing. Trusting is allowing him to shine light on the scared and hurting pieces of your heart that are hiding in a corner – or marching behind a ten-foot wall. It’s being vulnerable (when appropriate) because God already accepts you.

And another important part of trusting God with our hearts, especially when it comes to relationships, is trusting that He will meet our needs. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, dating, or married - no guy will ever be able to fill your heart’s desire for intimacy, acceptance and love. -That desire is a good thing, even when it seems more like a burden or a bottomless hole. It’s good because God put it in our hearts Himself, to draw us closer to Him. He knows He’s the only one big enough to satisfy it, and that we’ll run around trying to fill it until we finally find the source of love.

And the truth is that we are loved already, more than we could ever know. The truth is that God has a plan for us – a plan that is bigger than we could ever imagine. (That doesn’t mean pain-free, much as I wish it did. But it does mean that He is big enough to bring good out of the hard times). The truth is that God knows what He is doing. The truth is that He died to ransom and redeem us. The truth is He will never fail you, never walk away from you, and never let you go.

This has been one of my favorite verses recently, as I learn what it means to trust God with my heart: “I am still confident of this: that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:13-14).

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Agree, disagree? What has kept you from trusting God – and what do you find it especially hard to trust Him with?

-- from the archives