Walking With the Lord: Faith and trust in Him with our decisions

Having faith and trust in the Lord is a topic that touches very close to home for my husband and me right now. About a month or two ago we decided we were not going to renew our lease on the town home we rent and since then and actually since January when this topic first came up for us, we've been contemplating what our next step is to be. We have a lot of possibilities, but with those possibilities comes the burden of trying to figure out where we are supposed to go and what we are supposed to do. This is actually a longer story then I will share, one that has had us looking to move to another state or us considering purchasing a small home that could potentially be turned into a rental property, or purchasing a home for the right price and later try to flip it after a lot of hard work on our end. As the Lord has closed some doors and swung open others we have landed on our the path that would lead us to buy a home with some land, with it coming the commitment to stay in the state we are in and make it a permanent home. (Neither my husband or I is from MN, and it was our desire to move south to first be closer to our family and second to live in a warmer climate where the winters aren't quite so harsh.)

Those closest to us have known of the burden that has been on our hearts that we make the right decisions for our family. In the past, when decisions of this nature have come before me, I have become overwhelmed with the different options and knowing what is right to do. I am a person who's mind travels down every road of possibility, trying to think about all the different scenarios we may or may not encounter. Honestly, this thinking can become debilitating because it can cause an overwhelming burden to make the right decision, what ever "right" may be. More importantly though is it can cause me to focus on me and what I want versus handing it over the Lord and having faith and trust in Him to provide us with the right home in the right location.

We have asked many friend who are close to us to be praying with us through this whole process. Not praying that the Lord will grant us a larger home, or all the land we may desire or open up the perfect opportunities. Those are certainly all fine things, but they are things that our flesh desires and they aren't necessarily what the Lord desires for us. So, we've asked that our friends pray that we have open eyes and willing hearts to follow the Lord's lead. We've been praying that the Lord would make our path clear to us and that He would lead us to the home that He knows is best suited for us, our finances, our family and ultimately our long term goals.

By handing our burdens over to the Lord and trusting in Him to provide and having faith that He will guide us in the right direction, we are releasing ourselves for the anxiety that Satan would use to overwhelm us. I know this because it's happened to us many times before. The number of times I have been reduced to tears because of the overwhelming burden of trying to do it on my own and do it my own way are countless. Honestly, this is probably one of the first truly huge decisions my husband and I have had to make together where we are seeking the Lord through the whole process and what an amazing, I mean truly, truly amazing difference it is making.

I am still working at not being anxious. Why? Because trusting in the Lord, having true faith in Him isn't a one time prayer or a one time thought, instead it's a daily, hourly, even minute by minute step that requires me to hand my burdens, my thoughts even, back over to the hands of the Lord. It's reminding myself that His timing is always the best timing and it's knowing and trusting that He will provide for us, even if it's not in the way we were expecting.

Matthew 6: 25-34 are excellent verses to remember during times like this.

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? Any why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow, they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will car for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."