“There will always be a gap between what we see and the full story God knows. That gap is where so many of my fearful ‘what-if’ questions come from as I look ahead and play out worst- case scenarios. But let’s flip that. Let’s think through some what-if questions that point us toward God’s goodness instead of all the doubts that point us toward distrust.”- Lysa TerKeurst
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”- 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)
Lysa TerKeurst continues Chapter 6 of I Want to Trust You, but I Don’t with seven what-if questions that point us toward God’s goodness. She covers the first four questions today.
1. What if I wrote down each thought of distrust so they don’t stay all jumbled up inside me as a big feeling of anxiety? Be specific about your fears in trusting God and describe the reasons you feel that way.
2. What if expressing my true feelings to God is a beautiful act of trusting God? Verbalizing your doubts to God expresses your trust in God. Because trusting God with your doubts about Him enables you to trust Him with anything.
3. What if I looked at Scripture in a new way? Too often, Lysa observes, she reads God’s Word in an attempt to make sense of what she’s facing. Instead, Lysa exhorts, see the Scriptures as inviting you to see in part how God sees things.
4. What if, instead of being so frustrated by what I don’t see, I let God’s Word be the lens through which I get to receive glimpses of His goodness that only those of us who suffer get to see? Suffering comes with the potential to shrink our perspective. For pain tends to hyperfocus us on fixing the source of the pain. As a result, we confine God to only one good move — take away the source of the pain. Rather, Lysa encourages, look to God’s Word to help you see how to suffer. And still retain certainty in His goodness.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you narrow the gap between sight and faith? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Lift an unbowed head?”