Tag: hope

Transferred Trust

On By jillmhollingsworthLeave a comment

Shock washed over me as I sat motionless against my fabric headboard. What seemed muddled just moments ago was now painfully clear. I took a deep breath, my eyes scanning the words again and again.

“Because [King Asa] relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord [His] God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from [His] hand.” 2 Chron. 16:7

King Asa won many battles by following the Lord’s instructions, but this day was marked by defeat because he transferred trust. See, King Asa was in a tough spot- a foreign army was causing trouble for his people. But instead of seeking God’s instruction, he relied on his own strategies and foreign kings. From that point on, God opposed him.

Fresh tears burned my eyes. Truth settled in. Defeat is guaranteed when I transfer trust.

And isn’t it so easy to do? We begin in the right place. But then our dreams meet the daily grind. Our hope is deferred. We encounter trials like storms on the sea, struggling to keep our heads up as we choke on wave after wave of salty water.

Before we realize it we have begun relying on people or things or ideas or behaviors to deliver us from the undertow.

But then God, rich in grace, brings us back to faith.

The Bible’s life-giving messages are beautifully interwoven, all sprouting from the same seed: faith. The greatest men and women in history put their trust in God alone in their most trying moments. Their reward was deliverance. Their reward was the mighty move of God on their behalf!

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So what can we do if we realize we have transferred trust?

  • Be honest with God. One of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” Coming clean with God that we’ve relied on our own wisdom prepares us for the next step.
  • Ask for help. Psalm 25:4-5 is a specific go-to prayer: “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” This is a simple request to God for help. It is also a confession that He alone knows the best way out of our mess and is more than able to direct us in it.
  • As we wait for guidance, we remember. 1 Chronicles 16:11-12 says, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done, his miracles, and the judgments He pronounced.” It helps me to mentally list every move of God I’ve witnessed. If you’re a new believer, ask seasoned believers to share testimonies. Read books on mighty moves of God. Remembering His faithfulness in the past increases our trust for the future.

Sometimes we’re weary because we’re trying to solve in our own strength what was only meant to be solved through His. If we’ve transferred trust, may today be the day we withdraw the funds and deposit it back into God’s account.

For the Broken

On By jillmhollingsworth7 Comments

A despised woman, broken and ashamed, trudged down the long path to the home where Jesus was staying for the evening. Years of poor decisions had left her with a profoundly grieved countenance; her lack of dignity had even weighed down her posture, leaving her eyes downcast and her shoulders slumped towards the ground. She didn’t know much, but of one thing she was sure: her own sin had brought her to this place in life, and for that, she was deeply sorry.

She arrived at the door. Knocking hesitantly, she opened it as her eyes welled up with tears. She was desperately clinging to a glimmer of hope that this man, this precious Jesus, could make her whole again. She’d heard of him giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, and healing the sick. Could he restore a broken spirit? Could he forgive a crimson-stained heart?

She spotted him at the dining room table; he was surrounded by a sea of intimidating, distinguished men. In a swift rush of desperation, she hurried to where he was sitting and collapsed before him. She knelt there, weeping. As her kisses and warm tears covered his feet, she took her hair and began wiping away the filth that had built up from a long day of walking the dusty roads.

She had no righteous deeds to show, no beautiful clothes to adorn herself. And though she had nothing but her tears to give, still she came. A sacrifice of a humble and repentant heart she laid at his feet. And it was enough.

Jesus looked up from where she was kneeling. He surveyed the room full of dignified men. “Do you see this woman?” he asked. “I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet” (Luke 7:44-45).

Though the others despised her, Jesus highly esteemed her, for she had come to him broken. Looking down at her with deep admiration and love, he held out his hand to lift her up. “Your sins are forgiven,” he said. “Your faith has saved you” (Luke 7:48,50). Gratitude and awe overwhelmed her as she took his hand. Just as she wiped away the filth from his feet, so he wiped away the filth from her heart.

She came in sorrow; she left in peace. As only Jesus can, he revived her soul.

Psalm 102:17 “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.”

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Isaiah 66:2 “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”

Isaiah 57:15 “For this is what the high and lofty One says- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

Other Scripture References: Luke 7:36-50, 1:53; Psalm 51:16-17; Matthew 5:3; Proverbs 18:23; Revelation 3:17