Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:5-7 (ESV)
Saying I trust God regarding the benefits in my life—my salvation—my heavenly future—is an easy thing to do. But trusting God with the nitty, gritty everyday details is a different matter entirely.
When something difficult happens to me the process of trusting God with it begins with taking the time to identify what I am feeling about it. Finding the right words brings the issue into clearer focus; however, it is simply not enough just to speak words about what is causing me anxiety. Have you noticed that mere words don’t help you find the peace you are looking for? What then?
I begin trusting God with something when I decide to seriously invite Him into the mix. How many times does God answer when I approach Him with a question about a detail in my life? Every time because of a wonderful promise in James 1:5 (ESV) which says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. Trusting God begins here for the believer!
According to the Scripture above, God encourages me to reach out to Him with my questions and concerns while remaining reasonable in my behavior. The Revised Standard Version (RSV) translation for reasonableness is forbearance. Forbearance means patient self-control, restraint, and tolerance. Getting to the heart of a matter involves intentional on-going prayerful supplication (asking) with a thankful heart for the purpose of seeking understanding and capturing any wayward thoughts—and bringing them into submission to the plan of God.
To truly trust God, however, I use the phrase “Go to work.” It explains my need to double down in my efforts to explore the depths of God’s wisdom. Why? Because God’s truth is my reality! When I “Go to work” I search Him out for as long as it takes, and He promises to guard my heart and mind in the process. So why not trust God in the everyday details? Why not work the specific nitty, gritty problem through to receive the prize of His peace?