Faith
by Jill Southern
In my last seed, I wrote about the words of the hymn ‘Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey’, and the scripture from Hebrews 11:1 ‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see’.
Since then, God has been taking me on a journey about trusting Him. You’d think it would be straightforward. You just make a determined choice to trust God, and then you get on with doing it - but sometimes it’s not that simple.
Recently, I went to Madrid with my daughter for the weekend, and one of the things I wanted to do while she was with me was to buy a wedding outfit for my granddaughter’s wedding in September. We ended up in a very expensive shop, but there was the outfit of my dreams.
On our return, we packed it carefully into my suitcase, and flew back to Heathrow. But, as we waited at the luggage carousel, everyone seemed to have their suitcase except me. I started to get concerned. When my daughter asked me if I’d kept the receipts, my heart sank. I started to strongly pray, and sensed the Lord saying to me “Can you trust me?” I said, “Yes Lord but I would like to see my case now”.
Then I was prompted with the scripture, ‘Faith is the evidence of things not seen’. When we see it, it’s too late for faith. I was increasingly agitated - no case yet. Then the person picking me up rang to ask how much longer he had to wait, as he was being moved on. I was extremely stressed, and God spoke again to me. “You'll go through customs with your case. Trust me”. There were now only half a dozen cases left on the belt, but not mine. Did I really trust God? I felt doubtful it would come now.
Then, finally, the very last suitcase appeared, and it was mine. Hallelujah! I was so relieved and thankful to God, but started to repent all the way to the exit. I felt God saying to me, “You're going to have to learn to truly trust me with far more than a suitcase”.
I knew I’d been through a test and not really come out of it well. Why do we major on minors? Jesus said, ‘Take no anxious thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear. For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them’ (Matthew 6:31).
I know I’m on a journey of choosing to trust God whatever the outcome, and to stay at peace, even in challenging situations, and not to fear or doubt Him. For it says in the bible ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe’ (Hebrews 11:6).
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me today to trust You with those things that I find difficult. Help me not to worry and get stressed out over issues, which are, in the scheme of things, quite trivial. Teach me to fix my eyes on You, and to trust You completely. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jill Southern is the founder of Ellel Ministries Pierrepont and directed the work for 21 years. She has recently stood down from that role but still teaches on the NETS programme and has the passion to train and equip God`s people to fully walk in their destiny and calling. She is the Regional Director for Ellel Ministries International in South East Asia and China and is also on the Executive Leadership of the ministry.
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