A Profession of Trust

A profession is an act of openly declaring or publicly claiming a belief, faith, or opinion.  Another definition in the dictionary states that it is a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.  Psalm 31:1 declares "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness."  Are you able to make that same profession on today that in God only will you place your trust?  People turn against you, love you, and leave you, but God is always right there.  Situations and circumstances change, one moment your up and the next you are down, but God has everything that you need in the palm of his hand.  Psalms 31:1-8 is an expression of confidence in God that he can keep us and protect us no matter what we might face from day to day, for God is "our rock and our fortress".   Read Matthew 14:29-31 and you will see Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on the water, yet he lost focus and faith and began to seek. At times we are all just like Peter, but what are some causes of the doubt and lost of faith that we might face on this journey? Here are just a few... looking at our situation/problem instead of to God, length of our trial, length of time since a promise was given to us, type of trial, severity of trial, cares of life, family, friends, self, and failure to submit to God's will and plan for our life.   We must avoid losing focus, at all costs, for the bible declares "what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?" Matthew16:26.  How hard it is for us to do like Jesus in the Garden of Getsemene to submit to God's will, and say "not my will but thine", but all is not lost.  We are yet able to regain our trust and faith in God by taking some of the following steps...repent, refocus, rededicate, revive, and rejoice in our Lord and Savior's faithfulness and mercy.  We can improve our church attendance.  The bible declares "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" Romans 10:17.   We can pray, fast, read our bibles, and sing songs of praise unto God to build up ourselves.  We can work (be about our Father's business), and go help others, serve in the church, and give of our time and self. We can remember what God has already done for us. We can confess God's Word over our life.  If we are going through a dry season we can remember Psalm 37:25 "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread".  If we are dealing with sickness and disease we can declare Isaiah 53:5 "By his stripes we are healed".  When our children are disobedient or unruly we can proclaim Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go:and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  No matter what our situation or circumstance we can know God is able to help us and deliver us if we just trust in Him, and we can meditate on Phillipians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Finally, we can regain our trust and faith with thanksgiving for what God has already done in our lives, and prasing and worshiping God for who He is.  We will come out on the other side by holding on to the promise inspite of others doubting and naysaying.  We must step out inspite of the giants we face, and sometimes step out of our comfort zone to avoid missing out on opportunities and provisions that God has already prepared for us.  We must take one day at a time, and remain faithful as we work with a spirit of excellence on our jobs, in our church, and in our homes.  We must maintain our integrity, and deny self and others who might turn us from God's ways.  We might have to lose some things that we think are important, so that we can gain a greater blessing.  If we hold on to our trust and faith in God our deliverance will come, and when it does we must give a report and share our testimony with others and most importantly we must give thanks for God's faithfulness.  If we just believe, inspite of feeling forgotten or betrayed, we will be elevated in the end.  Yes our victory will come just as God said it would.  Keep the faith!