Trust in God Sustains Me

Have you heard about One Word 2012? It’s choosing one word to focus on throughout the year—making the effort to keep that focus in front of you every day. My word for 2012 is Trust—complete and unquestionable trust in God.

As I focus on trusting God in all things, I want to spend more time in Scripture looking specifically at verses on trust. And I’d also like to share them here with you.

Today I’m looking at Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NLT)…

This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

I like this description of what happens to us when we trust in ourselves and how very different it is when we trust in God. Our connection with God—our trust in Him, sustains us. Through the heat and the drought, financial worries and relationships gone bad, sadness and loneliness, and so much more, God continues to give us life and keep us going.

Jesus gave a similar message…

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. (John 15:4-6 NLT)

I think of looking at my garden or the trees after a bad storm. Leaves and branches that were severed from the main plant during the storm will die. They are no longer connected with anything to give them life. That’s me if I separate myself from Christ, breaking my connection with Him. I may continue to live happily for a while, but eventually, being separated from my life source will be the end of me. 

If I choose not to trust God, but to trust myself instead, I’m separating myself from the One who gives me life. Only trust in God gives me what I need to face the storms in life—trust in Him sustains me.

What are your thoughts when you read these Scripture verses? Is there a word for you in 2012?

In Christ,

Laura

I’m linking up with MyOne Word Wednesday, WalkWith Him Wednesdays, Grace Cafe, Thought Provoking Thursday, Brag on God Friday, and Spiritual Sundays.