Trusting God

Description

You don’t have to understand God to trust him.

“Just trust me.” Those are the words we often hear in movies just before something bad happens. And yet, we are told to trust God. In a culture where we tend to take control of our own lives, trusting God has become a religious platitude rather than a life-changing attitude. We say it, but do we really mean it? And what does trusting God really look like?
 
Sharon, Mary, and Gwen—the Girlfriends in God ministry team—have been there. They’ve traveled the tough roads of life to discover the peace and power that comes from grabbing the hand of God and trusting his plan. The life stories they share bring laughter and sometimes tears, but always spiritual growth.
 
Each of the 12-week sections concludes with a Bible study guide and journal page, inviting you to lock arms with Sharon, Mary, and Gwen and share with other women in a small group setting or to use individually in your own quiet time.Praise for Trusting God

“Reading this devotional feels like you’re chatting with your best girlfriends over lunch! These women make you feel like they know you—that they know what it feels like to be you. I love the variety and short length of each daily entry—you can read one in the time it takes to finish your morning coffee! Practical, sweet, and inspiring, Trusting God will help you do just that. And by the last page, you too will have some new girlfriends—Mary, Gwen, and Sharon!”
—Jennifer Rothschild, author of Self Talk, Soul Talk and Lessons I Learned in the Dark

“Girlfriends in God—Gwen, Sharon, and Mary—are some of the wisest women I know. My friends make trusting God seem simple, possible, and attainable. A girlfriend is someone who watches out for you, encourages you, and provides opportunity for you—and that is exactly what you will experience from these Girlfriends in God. If your life is feeling unstable, unsure, unreliable, or the path feels unknown, Trusting God will keep you under God’s umbrella of
tender-loving care.”
—Pam Farrel, relationship specialist, international speaker, author of best-selling Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti and The 10 Best Decisions a Woman Can Make

“Trusting God in this world of uncertainty and economic upheaval isn’t easy. We all need to learn, relearn, or be reminded daily of the truth that God can be trusted for each day’s problems. True to their real and relatable style, this wonderful Girlfriends in God devotional is just what you need to encourage your heart and refresh your spirit.”
—Georgia Shaffer, licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania and author of Taking Out Your Emotional Trash
Sharon Jaynes is an author, a former VP and radio co-host of Proverbs 31 Ministries, and a frequent speaker for women’s events, television, and radio. Gwen Smith, author and speaker, worship leader, and award-winning songwriter, has been featured on major television programs. Mary Southerland is an international speaker, the author of books that help women who struggle with stress and depression, and offers a weekly online Bible study to 17,000 subscribers. Together, Sharon, Gwen, and Mary share Girlfriends in God online devotions that are read by approximately 500,000 readers daily.Girlfriends Talk About Trusting God

Introduction
Trust. Now that’s a tough word to wrap your heart around. On the one hand, you celebrate and cherish those people with whom you can safely share anything and everything—your hopes and dreams, your faults and failures, the good times and the bad. No doubt about it—a friend you can fully trust is a priceless treasure.

On the other hand, how many times have you heard the phrase, “Just trust me,” only to be disappointed or disillusioned? How many times have you put your faith in and counted on a person to do the right thing only to be deflated and discouraged? How many times have those words “Just trust me” turned out to be nothing more than
an empty promise or a primer for disaster? Is anyone trustworthy these days?

What is trust? Webster’s dictionary defines it this way: “To have faith or trust in, to rely on (someone) to do something or permit someone to use something in the proper way, to believe, to confide (someone or something) to a person’s responsible care, to commit someone or something to the responsible care of (a person), to have
faith in God.”

Your life may be blessed with people you can trust—friends who really do have your best interests at heart and are there when you need them. Your life may also be littered with people you’ve trusted who have let you down. Perhaps you’ve got scars to remind you of people who’ve held your heart carelessly, walked away flippantly, or broken their word unapologetically. It has happened to all of us. And the hurt from a broken trust can make it difficult to count on people again.

But here’s some good news: God is not human. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He will never leave us or forsake us. He says what He means and means what He says. God cares for you unceasingly, provides for you immeasurably, and loves you unconditionally. And you really can trust Him.

As Girlfriends in God (GiG), we are learning to trust God as we walk through good times and as we celebrate life-wins. We are also learning to trust God through trials and struggles like the ones you may be facing. The storms may be a bit different in nature, but they are storms nonetheless. We want to share our lives with you, and we hope the truths we’ve learned will help you deepen your trust in God.

Our Girlfriends in God theme verse is found in 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “We loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” So in these pages we have opened our hearts and homes and invited you to take a peek inside. But that invitation comes with a warning—our lives are sometimes quite messy.

The apostle Paul instructed all Christians to “put on the full armor of God.” It’s a pretty snazzy outfit: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the sword of the Spirit, the sandals of the gospel of peace, and the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:13–17). A woman dressed in that power suit is armed and dangerous when the Enemy comes snooping around. While these verses tell of a figurative or spiritual armor, the actual armor soldiers wore during the time of Paul was fascinating—especially the shield. Shields were often made of heavy leather, which soldiers soaked in water to help extinguish the fiery darts the enemy shot at them. And the shields—oh, we’re so excited to tell you this—the shields had hooks on the sides. Why? We thought you’d never ask. The shields had hooks on the sides so that, in difficult situations, the soldiers could link their shields together and march into battle as one.

Girlfriend, that is exactly what we want to do with you in the pages of this book. We want to hook shields with you and march as one. We want to lock arms with you, connect our hearts with yours, and learn how to seek and trust God together.

No matter how you choose to work through this book—on your own, with a prayer partner, with a group of friends, or with a GiG group—we are with you. At the end of each week, you’ll find questions to ponder. We’ve called it “Now It’s Your Turn,” and that’s exactly what it is—your turn. We’ve taken you on our holy field trips, and then it’s your turn to tell about yours. We’d love to hear from you. We’ve set up a special page on our website so you can share what you’ve learned about trusting God. Just log onto www.GirlfriendsInGod.com and click on the “Trusting God” page to tell us your story.

Now, let’s get started on our journey to trusting God!
-Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, and Mary Southerland
US

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