I am super excited to join the Spiritual Crusade Team for this How-to Series. We’ll be focusing on how to live basic principles (like being humble, forgiving, standing for right), commandments (The Big Ten, The Word of Wisdom, The Law of Tithing), and ordinances (baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, temple covenants). We’ll delve into practical ways to embrace the gospel, one step at a time. I hope you’ll join me the third Monday of each month as we strive to find joy, peace, and closeness to God! 

Trust the Lord

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel a little perplexed. I want to have faith. I want to listen to the spirit. I want to trust the Lord. But how exactly do I do that?  I’m a word nerd, so let’s start with the word trust. Dictionary.com defines trust as “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc. of a person or thing…to have confidence; hope.”

Significant wording here: reliance.  So if we trust the Lord, we rely on Him. 

Rely on His Integrity

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”  (Romans 8:28)

God promises that all things work together for our good. That means even hard things in our life can bring about good, especially if we turn to Him and allow Him to refine us. He also promises to save us through Christ’s atonement (more on that in a moment). He promises to bring us peace. When we trust Him, we believe what he says. We believe that He has integrity and that He will always keep His word to us. And we structure our lives according to that belief. As Dallin H. Oaks said in Trust in the Lord, “Our only sure reliance is to trust in the Lord and His love for His children.”

Rely on his Strength

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Do you ever feel like you’re working on a problem or to overcome a personal weakness, but no matter how hard you try, you’re just running in circles? We’ve all been there. We’ve all tried relying on our own courage and strength and wits to solve our troubles. Don’t get me wrong, God wants us to be part of the solution. But we need Him to guide our efforts and to refine us along the way. The Lord has the power to fight our battles. His strength is far beyond our own and covers our weakness, if we just let Him.

“Calm down, stop trying to figure out the answers, and turn your focus to God.” 
― Joyce Meyer, Let God Fight Your Battles: Being Peaceful in the Storm

Rely on His Ability 

God has the ability to save us. The ability to guide us. The ability to sanctify us through our struggles. He has the ability to comfort us, to sustain us, to grant us grace to rise above our own limited capacity. He has the ability to heal us. All of this is part of Christ’s atonement. We just need to believe Him and welcome Him into our lives. Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson and His Grace is Sufficient by Brad Wilcox are great resources to help us understand and believe that the atonement of Christ is real, powerful, and transformative.

Rely on His Surety

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)

I had to look this one up. Surety means “security against loss or damage…the payment of a debt…or a person who has made himself or herself responsible for another, as a sponsor, godparent, or bondsman.”

Oh my, there’s so much significance there. When we rely on God’s surety, we not only are accepting that Christ’s atonement will cover our own debts, but His grace will bring us peace and ultimately restore us from any of our losses. Not only that, but when we rely on God’s surety, we accept Him as our sponsor or godparent. We become family.

Blessings of Trusting the Lord

“Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” (Ether 12:4)

I can’t even begin to summarize all the blessings we receive through trusting the Lord. There’s simply not enough time and space. But here’s a few. We gain confidence through trusting the Lord. By trusting Him, we are able to hope for goodness and peace – the good we can do for others and the goodness and peace God brings into our lives. We can experience consistent, resilient happiness. We gain an even greater hope for the next life, where we will be welcomed into His loving arms.

Practical Steps You CAN Take

1. Ask God for help. I know. Sounds simple. It is. Just do it. Really.
2. Listen to and try to follow the answers you receive.
3. When you’re afraid, be still. Turn to Him in prayer. Study His word. Serve others. Trust that He will take care of you!
4. Study His word even when you’re not afraid. Make a habit of it.
5. Come to know God. Make Him a priority. Talk to Him all day long. “Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household…But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness” (Alma 34:20-21, 26)
6. Remember, trust is a choice. Choose to Trust the Lord.

What are some ways trusting the Lord has given you strength or hope?