Photo by Valentina Aleksandrovna on Unsplash

"So I'm breathing in Your grace and breathing out Your praise..."

We may not always feel like breathing out praise. Yet the very act of crying out to God praises Him because it acknowledges that He is the source where our needs are met. He remembers our frame; He knows that we are dust (Psalm 103:14).

Our song might instead consist of breathing out reminders to ourselves of that very fact: we are weak, but He is strong. "Let it go, my soul, and trust in Him."

I did this very thing a few months ago when I was feeling particularly anxious. I don't even remember the circumstance that unsettled my heart, but I do recall kneeling before the Almighty Calmer of the wind and waves and repeating, "Let it go, my soul," sweeping my hands from my heart out to the edges of my being and into God's grasp, "and trust in Him," reaching to the heavens and inviting His presence into my soul. This exercise was praise, but at the time it merely felt like gasping for air.

Perhaps you don't feel like breathing out praise. Maybe this summer you haven't been obliged to burst out in song to the Creator when you walk out into the sunshine. Instead you've continued to feel the cloud of doubt or worry or depression or fear hang over you as you go from inside to outside or from work to vacation or from alone time to friend time.

I encourage you to let it go, soul. You think you can't. Your situation is too imminent, too desperate. But look at the throne of grace, which we have been given the privilege to approach with boldness (Hebrews 4:15-16). This throne is not too small to handle your letting go and laying down, even if you have to return and let go and lay it down again and again. He is not unable to empathize with our weaknesses.

So gasp for the air that is the grace of God. Reach for His goodness though you grasp in the dark. And whether you are ready to jump for joy in the Lord or collapse with exhaustion from running a hard race, one thing you can be sure of is that you will always, always be breathing in grace.

Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash

Do you ever wonder what sort of things God will allow into your life to help you learn to trust Him?

I do.

See, I've had a nice life. A pretty smooth, easy life. And I like it that way. I like having a great, healthy family and a comfortable living situation. I consider these blessings from the Lord, who loves to give good gifts to His children.

Yet I realize my faith muscles haven't had to be stretched too terribly much over the last 25 years. So, I wonder, what will it take to grow my faith?

I look at the burdens and struggles other people have had and worry that similar things might be waiting just around the corner for me. Do you?

When we fear the process of learning to trust the Lord, we forget that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). God will never allow us to experience something that's too much for us to handle when we're walking with Him (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Another admonishment from Jesus applicable to growing our faith muscles is that we shouldn't borrow trouble from tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). God has us where we are, in the situation we are in, today, for a reason.

Whatever you're going through at this moment, whether a huge mountain of a health crisis or a seeming molehill of a deadline at work, God is using it to teach you to trust Him. Be in the moment, and resist the pull to compare your struggle to another's.

Remember,

   Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
   but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:30-31

Ask the Lord to show you what He wants you to learn in this season, and walk forward one step at a time, holding His hand. Most of all, remember that He never lets go of yours.