Did you guess what this blog was about by the title? Did you finish the song in your head? "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word. Just to rest upon His promise, just to know, “thus saith the Lord.” Why is it so sweet to trust in Jesus?
Something I learned while under Pastor Devin’s leadership is to ask the Lord for a word for the new year. The word for Abundant Life Church in 2024 is “sanctuary.” The word the Lord has given me for this year is “trust.” It’s not earth-shattering, but even though we’re only a few weeks into 2024, the Lord has opened my eyes to how little I actually understood about trust.
One of my absolute favorite movies is Disney’s Aladdin. I watched it so many times as a kid I could probably recite most of it from memory. I’ve even had kids from the youth group give me Aladdin gifts because they know my love for it. (Thanks Lydia and Michaela!)
I want to briefly touch on two of the most important scenes in the movie. The protagonist, Aladdin, meets a beautiful stranger in the marketplace. To avoid some trouble they find themselves in, they hide out in his rundown home. But of course, the law catches up to them. In an effort to escape, Aladdin extends his hand to the girl, a total stranger, and asks, “Do you trust me?” A short while later in the movie, we learn that the girl Aladdin met is actually the princess, and Aladdin, wanting to marry her, uses the power of a genie to disguise himself as a prince. The princess discovers his secret in the next scene when Aladdin, trying to win her over, invites her on a magic carpet ride. When she shows some hesitation, he extends his hand to the princess and asks, “Do you trust me?” The movie, of course, ends with a “happily ever after.”
I’ve been trying to create the habit of declaring my trust in Jesus every day, so when the trials of everyday life strike, I can return to that declaration of trust. I want to declare my trust in Jesus even when I don’t see light at the end of the tunnel. I want to declare my trust in Him during a season that feels endless and like there is no hope. I want to declare my trust in an answer that was set in motion long before I ever brought the request to the Lord, because nothing takes Him by surprise.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Trusting Jesus is one of those foundational parts of Christianity. And even though we know we need to do it in our walk with Christ, I think we miss how pivotal it really is. At least I know I can! But if we break down the scripture in Jeremiah, we can see how trusting in Jesus is such a crucial part of our daily life.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” Blessed means “to be made holy, consecrated,” “those who live with God in heaven,” and “endowed with divine favor and protection.” When we trust in Jesus and make Him our Lord and Savior, it means we are made holy, set apart, and our confidence is in Him. It means we will live with God forever in heaven and we are endowed with divine favor from the Lord! Declare your trust in the Lord and take hold of these promises!
Trusting in Jesus throughout the day means our roots are being consistently watered so that we can keep going back to that well of trust for another drink. Then, when we find ourselves in a season of turmoil, despair, or confusion (and those seasons will come!), our roots will be strong and our leaves will remain green, even in the harshest of conditions. Not that we will put on pretty, smiling faces and pretend we don’t have a care in the world when in reality we feel as though we are falling apart…no, instead we will trust in the Lord, declaring our roots are connected to the source of living water and He will lead us through the valley.
Being rooted in trust gives us a place to put our worries - right at the Lord’s feet. The temptation to pick those worries back up will always be there, and some days we’ll put them down only to pick them right back up and hold onto them. (I’m guilty of this so there is no judgment here because I have not mastered this practice.) But then there is good old Philippians 4:6 to remind us not to worry about anything! In every situation, we are to bring our cares to God. With thankful hearts we are to present our requests to Him, then His peace will guard our hearts and minds. So when you start to worry about something you’ve laid down at His feet, declare your trust in Him and in His answer, even if He hasn’t told you yet.
Trusting in Jesus means I’ll never fail to bear fruit. John 15:4 says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” The tree doesn’t fail to produce fruit because its roots remain in the water. Declaring our trust in Jesus submerges our roots into the water of life where our roots remain strong because they are in the refreshing presence of the Lord. Trusting Him keeps us in close company with Him, which means we will bear much fruit.
I could write an entire series of blogs on how this one word has been challenging me to dive deeper into knowing the Lord and growing in my walk with Him. My prayer today is that the Lord equips us to lean not on our own understanding, but instead, to trust in Him with all of our hearts, minds, and souls, and to be rooted in Him, strengthening our daily walk.
In Christ,
Becca Drumheller
