Where My Trust is Without Borders

This past Tuesday during Bible study we were going over John 16:1-15. In the 13th verse Jesus tells the disciples that the Spirit of truth was going to come and would guide them. He is talking to them about the Holy Spirit. When I read this Tuesday night my mind went to the song Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United. The first line of the bridge in that song says 'Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.' It is incredibly easy to listen to that song and equate it to missions. Until last night I'd never thought about it outside of the context of saying lead me to the point that my trust in you goes beyond geographical lines. That is not at all wrong thinking, it is very much a song with a bridge that speaks of trusting God when you're not at home but you are all the more closer to Jesus because you lean on Him in those times.

While laying in bed it hit me that those borders don't just mean geographically. Theoretically, I could have just as hard a time trusting God with my finances and paying for school as I could with him calling me to a foreign country. I feel like it is so easy to get caught up in the idea of trusting God we pigeonhole that concept into either just the big things or just the little things but never both. There is no either or with trust, you either trust Him or you don't. I've heard 'If you can trust God with the big things why can't you trust him with the small things' so often. There is a great deal of truth to that. Many people find it much easier to give God the big things. I think that is because when it comes to  small things we feel like we can control them. That in and of itself is a huge problem. We can't do anything apart from God that is worthwhile and good for His kingdom. Our working in our own power is only going to get us into trouble and make things much worse than they were when we began. Somehow we still think it is a good idea for us to try. Those attempts end with us realizing how pointless it is to try without God but they never really seem to break us of the habit.

The flip side of that coin is trusting God only with the small things. It is as if we believe that the hard things are just too great for Him to work with and fix. That in itself blows my mind. God created everything. He spoke and the heavens and the Earth and all that lives on it came into existence. Yet we think something is too complex for Him to deal with? Which means our view of God is He is too busy to deal with the small things or too small to deal with the big things. Both of those are wrong.

"Casting all your anxieties on Him because he cares for you."-1Peter 5:7

No where in that verse does it say cast the diagnosis on me but not the troubles with your neighbor. Nor does it say tell me about the hurt you're feeling but those financial burdens are just too much for me to take care of for you. We've got to get out of the mindset that we either serve a God too small to handle our biggest problems or we are annoying Him with what we deem as insignificant or petty. Our God is mighty. Our God also cares. He cares about everything. There isn't a single thing you are going through or will go through that He doesn't know about. You are never alone. That means you aren't going to go to Him with anxiety that can't be lifted if you are willing to truly let it go.

Letting go is the key. Not the kind that involves ice princesses and musical numbers but complete and total surrender. Praying about something and then continuing to try and deal with it on your own isn't letting it go. I'm talking about pouring everything out to God and washing your hands of it. You leave it to God and you trust that He has it and you have peace. This peace isn't fleeting or momentary it lasts because it's His peace and it is perfect and comforting. It is also unfathomable to anyone who isn't a follower of Christ because the world cannot give you anything close to such a thing.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."-Philippians 4:6-7

God's word says everything and He means it. If He wanted you to pray only about the big things or the little things he would have said one or the other. When He said everything that is exactly what he meant.

I'll admit trusting God isn't always easy. There are times when I sit and wonder why I am where I am and what He is doing. There also times when trusting Him is the only thing that gets me through life. He is always good. He is always faithful. He is always sovereign.

In the end maybe you can rework the the first line of that bridge a little.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders and that means I don't worry about money. 

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders and that means I don't worry about where I'll be in five years.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders and that means I don't find my identity in what the world around me says about me but in you.

I don't know what that looks like for you. God does. Tell Him and lay it down forever. Peace is far better than carrying around a weight you can't deal with when in the end you have no control of the situation in the first place.

Trust Him. Trust Him with the "big" and the "little". Just don't put that trust in a mold and think it only means one type of problem.