Trusting God in Receiving and in Releasing

Trusting God is essential in our Christian journey. His ways are not our ways, and sometimes, we don’t see how a ‘Red Sea’ can open up and make a way. Yet it does.

You won’t see two fish and five loaves multiply to feed a multitude until you trust them in Jesus’ hands. You won't see the Jordan River part until you take that first step of trust.

In my Christian walk, I’ve never had trouble knowing God as Jehovah Jireh (my Provider). Even while growing up, I saw Him provide for my parents, and now in my own family. I have witnessed His provision time and again. But there came a season when God wanted me to know Him and trust Him in a different way.

I had no difficulty trusting Him to receive, but the real challenge came when He asked me to release. We needed a specific amount of money we didn’t have. We prayed, and God provided as we expected. But what came next was unexpected. I felt this strong conviction in my spirit that I had to give that money away to someone else.

Now I was in a dilemma. Could I really trust Him when He asked me to release what He had just given me? I said, “Lord, are You sure? Don’t You know I need this?” That’s how my spirit responded.

But He wasn’t changing His mind. I wrestled with the decision for about two days. My wife quickly noticed something was wrong with me. When I finally told her, she calmly said, “If the Lord is asking, then give it away.” Did she really know how this had been weighing me down? I was weary, I was exhausted from struggling with it

There was no resistance from her as there was in me. But the moment I aligned my heart with God’s will and said “yes,” a wave of peace filled me. Even before I gave the money away, I knew my heart had already surrendered, which allowed God’s peace to take over from the restlessness I had had from trying to fight His voice and disobey.

We gave the money away. And just a few weeks later, the exact amount came back into our account, someone had blessed us with that same amount. Not only that, but it was now a standing order.

I have found that when you trust God and let go, He will never let you down. Sometimes the temptation is to cling more tightly to the gift than to the Giver, to trust in what He has given rather than in who He is.

God may be prompting you in your heart today. Don’t ignore it. Don’t dismiss it. Trust Him to guide you through it. Abraham received the long-awaited promise and then God asked him to sacrifice it. Abraham didn’t hesitate. He rose early in the morning to obey. He trusted God more than the promise itself. Scripture tells us, ‘Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again’ (Hebrews 11:19).

He trusted God through it all and God provided in the best way, according to His will.