Trusting God Box

I was recently reading a book called "Confessions of a Pastor: Adventures in Dropping the Pose and Getting Real with God," by Craig Groeschel. What I really appreciate about him is that he is one of the people that so many put on a pedestal and yet whenever he writes he is real and honest about his walk with Jesus Christ and about his struggles in all aspects of his relationship with God, including trusting him. He had this awesome idea called a "Trusting God Box" Here is an excerpt from his book:

"Whenever you are worried about something you can't change, write your worry on a piece of paper and put it in the box. Once it is inside the box, it is God's property, his responsibility, not yours (it never was). From the moment you give your problem to Him, you're not allowed to worry about it. If you want to worry about it you have to go to the box and physically take the concern away from God. And when you do, you'll visually and physically act out what's really happening inside, you're choosing to stop trusting God."

Ouch! Physically taking the control away from God and physically choosing to stop trusting God. Ouch! How many of us stop trusting God on a regular basis by choosing to do so and taking back those things we nailed to the cross or surrendered to him, over and over again? I know I do. Things I thought I had surrendered to God, I have chosen to take back in an attempt to control them. The reality and the truth of the matter is I can't control them. I can't handle them. I can't do it on my own. That is why I gave it all the Him in the first place. I know you all know what I am talking about. No need to come up with some excuse or another about why you "can't" surrender X, Y, Z to God. It's not really a "can't" but instead a "won't". And why? We want control. If we are really honest with ourselves, sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between Lousy Larry or Jilted Jane who hurt us in the past when we trusted them with something precious to us and Jesus Christ. God is the ONLY one who will never fail us. He is the ONLY one who is 100% trustworthy all the time. He is the only one who keeps his promises and he is the ONLY one who loves us enough to sacrifice his son for our benefit. The Bible is full of promises reguarding God's trustworthiness, faithfulness, availability, and love. That is why we have the Bible in the first place. To KNOW GOD. Maybe many of us struggle so much with trusting him because we really don't KNOW God. Sure, we go to church. We sing about him. We can read about him. We believe in him and we claim to know him. But, do we really? Maybe the "Trusting God Box" would be a good exercise for us to see whether or not we really trust God. I took some time to make one, but you can use something that's already made.

Here's the challenge for you (and I will be doing it as well)

1) Get ahold of a "Trusting God Box" whether you make it, buy it, or use something lying around the house. Get one.

2) Take some time (and I don't mean a few minutes. I mean some serious time to sit and reflect on the areas in your life that you do not trust God in. Or maybe you might even need to revist those areas you think you trust God in. Perhaps you really don't. That is for you to discover. Ask God to help you, that is what he is there for.

3) Write down the areas of your life that you want to trust God with and place them in the box. Pray to God telling him that you are giving these things over to him and that you are no longer in control of them (you never were anyways) Tell him that you want him to handle them because you can't (be honest, you can't handle them and neither can I)

4) Do not take those papers back out. If you do I want you to visualize physically taking them back from God and physically choosing not to trust him. That is, afterall the purpose of the box.

5) Get to know God. Pick up your Bible and read. That is how you get to know God personally and not just know of him. That is how you get to learn who he is and what he is all about. That is how you learn to trust him, when you see that he is trustworthy (and he really is!) Below are some verses to get you started.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7, NIV)

God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. (Psalm 18:30, NLT)

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, NLT)