Practicing Trust
A few months ago I began thinking about my hopes for 2026. Not just hopes for my career or circumstances, although I have plenty of those, but I started to ask myself, “what do I hope God does inside of me in 2026? How do I want to grow?”
God often surprises me, and I end up growing in ways I didn’t expect or ask for. And then sometimes, I notice an area of weakness or sin or doubt inside myself and specifically ask God to help me grow in that area.
The word that keeps coming to mind for me lately is “TRUST.” Trusting God with my career and my finances, trusting that He will be with me when I take a leap of faith and that He is guiding me down the right path, trusting His timing and His plan, and trusting Him to take care of my family and friends. Essentially, trusting Him with my circumstances and situations, the “external things.”
But lately I’ve also been thinking about how it would feel to be my ideal self. Not “ideal” as in “perfect,” but as in the kind of person I aspire to be. Maybe I’ve been thinking about it because I’m figuring out what kind of mother I’d like to be when we start a family. I’d like to be calm. Not easily anxious or angry. Not fearful of the future. Not high-strung. Content. Not rushing through life. Not bent on achieving or striving. At peace in my heart even if not in my circumstances.
And I think those are examples of TRUST, too! (I think of these as more “internal things” that I’m entrusting to God.)
This year, my goal is to grow in trust. But I know it won’t be easy… and I’m a little nervous, honestly! I know growth happens through difficulty. Just like a muscle is strengthened through resistance. When I ask God to help me grow spiritually, He will do it… by challenging me. I often think of poems like “And God Said ‘No’” by Claudia Minden Welsz, which talk about the way God answers prayer. For example, this line:
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No.
Patience is a by-product of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is earned.
When I pray for humility, I don’t just become more humble overnight… instead, I find myself in situations where I must choose to humble myself (that’s hard), and situations where I’m reminded of my humble position in the grand scheme of things (oof, also hard). It’s a process: The Holy Spirit gives me the ability and the desire to grow, and then I must practice.
I don’t know how this year will look, but I know that if I’m wanting to let go of control, fear, hurry, and finding ‘security’ in the wrong things, it will require me to step out in faith in very tangible ways, and trust God even when I feel uncertain and shaky in my faith. This could mean making financial sacrifices even when it’s scary, or committing to a big decision even if I don’t feel confident it will work out, or spending time serving even when my schedule seems too full. I believe in my head that God is willing and able to meet my needs and guide me down the right path, but do I believe it in my heart? If there’s anything I’ve learned from popular Christmas movies, it’s that “seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing!” And there’s biblical truth in this cliche (John 20:29)!
So, to grow my trust in God this year, I can’t just change my mindset, I’m going to have to demonstrate my trust through my actions.
This happens so many times in scripture. I’m reminded of the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-15, who was given a very specific task to do in order to be healed. He was required to demonstrate his faith by doing something. And the story of Joshua at Jericho in Joshua 6:1-20. God may ask me to do things that don’t make a lot of sense… but He knows what He’s doing. I have to keep reminding myself of that.
So my goal this year is to put my faith to the test, and put it into practice. Because I know I will not trust God more unless I choose to practice trusting Him.
