Trust was my word for 2017 and I think that there is still more to learn. Trust takes work. Hard work and daily effort. I learned that a lot of trusting is just letting go of trying to plan out every detail and making it work the way I want.
I have trust issues. There are some reasons and yet no real reason other than the fact that my mind goes to places it shouldn’t in regards to always leaning to the negative outcome of just thinking the worst. You see I have always kind of been an assume the worst and then anything is better kind of thinker. That leads to some stress and anxiety.
I learned this year to take those thoughts captive a little quicker and not assume I knew how things would go or turn out. In relationships this is essential. I have to actively pursue the positive thoughts and throw out the thoughts based on other people and the past. What I found was I would fall back on thoughts about how someone else did something or didn’t do something and it would evoke emotions that were negative and led to questioning trust.
I tried to memorize verses that had to do with trusting God and then reminding myself when those those thoughts cane up just basically throwing them out and replacing them with the positives. Trust isn’t just an emotion or a vague faith in mankind. It’s actively choosing trust over distrust. It’s actively reminding myself of the reality of the actions of my God and those in my life. Not the imaginings of a distrustful mind.
What I learned in 2017 was that trust doesn’t just happen and it will be an ongoing lesson. I also learned I am somewhat selfish and prideful so I guess God thought 2018 should address that. So for this year I’m gonna focus on Humility.
I started reading Andrew Murray’s book on humility and I was immediately hit with this thought. Being humble isn’t just thinking less of myself. It’s not self depreciation. It’s acknowledging that it’s not about me.
So Happy New Year - trust God and others. Remember trust, like Love is a choice.
| From Andrew Murray’s book Humility |
