Join Us for Weekly Inbox Encouragement + Access to a Full Library of Free Faith-Building Tools

Sign me up!

Kristi Woods

Encouraging Women to Walk Deeper with God

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Speaking
  • Shop
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • Blog
    • Spiritual Growth
    • Mentoring
    • Emotional Health
    • Faith Resources
    • Faith Holidays
  • Bible Studies
  • Nonfiction
  • Fiction
  • Free Christian Resources

Trust & Pray

November 3, 2014 by Kristi 4 Comments

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Update 3/19/2015: Linking up with Suzanne Eller at #livefreeThursday.

 If you “stay tuned” from last Tuesday’s post, here we go….
Otherwise, you can check out Tuesday’s post here. 

“I’ll never move to Oklahoma!” had been my response and position for years. There was fervor in that answer as the strong-willed child, me, would answer with absolute assurance. Great emotion continually boiled to the surface every time the thought of moving to Oklahoma arose.
 
 
I simply did not want to go there and wasn’t trusting anyone else with that decision.
 
 
We had lived in several marvelous locations during our tenure in the military: Hawai`i, Florida, and Virginia Beach to mention a few. Living in the land of tornadoes was far removed from and fell quite short of the “marvelous locations” category, in my strong-willed opinion.
 
 
I was certain of it.
 
 
Years before children came along, my husband, then boyfriend, and I were venturing on a motorcycle, on Oklahoma’s Route 66. It was my first visit to the Sooner State.
 
As we rumbled down the road, the rain fell hard, nearly covering the motorcycle’s foot pegs. We thought it was “just” a thunderstorm.
Communication, by mouth at least, was impossible. The deafening roar of the rain, hail, and thunder made certain.
 
Hail, the size of marbles, was being flung down from the darkened clouds above, cracking my helmet’s face shield. Cars pulled over under the overpass, but not us. Our destination awaited “just ahead”, so we continued.
 
Albeit at a snail’s pace, we eventually made it to safety at my husband’s sister’s house. Our arrival was timely to say the least. Seconds after pulling onto her porch, a tsunami of tennis ball-sized hail began to pound the ground and any unfortunate objects in its way.
 
“There’s a tornado just ahead,” was our welcome as the door opened. We were riding toward a violent, F4 tornado.
 
And THAT was a major reason why I didn’t want to move to Oklahoma. I hated tornadoes with a passion, a knees knocking, nightmares-about-them-often passion. It was fear fueling my thoughts.
 
 
Passion is a good when mixed with faith. However, a fervent passion that doesn’t trust can birth ungodly decisions. 
 
Oklahoma was “home” for my husband, and he was now asking me to pray about moving there. He had been selected to be flown there for a job interview, and the hiring situation looked promising. It was time to face a possible move, head-on.
 
I stood, disillusioned. Military retirement in Oklahoma was not my dream.
 
“What?! We recently settled here again in North Carolina. Now you’re asking me to consider moving to Oklahoma?” I retorted. My emotions began churning a storm, tornado-style. I wasn’t sure whether to cry, shout, quietly stand, or spit tennis ball-sized hail. I simply stood and let out a large, nervous sigh.
 
“Uhhhhhhhhhh.”
 
I wasn’t certain I wanted to trust God with my life in Oklahoma. Emotions touted that my hand would go into that prayer bag, held high above eye-level, and there would be only one piece of paper in there.
 

It would declare:

 
Go to Oklahoma.
Do not pass Go.
Do not collect $200.
Get ready for the tornado.

~Love, God.
 
But those were emotions rising to the occasion, and emotions are often erroneous. 
 
 
The battle was raging. It happens in many of us. We want to give a quick no way answer, determining life with our own understanding. Maturity, however, prompts us  to trust the Lord. 
 
When we acknowledge Him, submitting to the Lord, in our everyday lives, our parenting, our job decisions, our marriages, our relationships…
 
 
When we trust in all our ways, even in those I-don’t-want-to-go-there situations…
 
 
When we say, “Daddy, what do You want?”…
 
 
He will make straight paths. 
 
Like Jesus on Gethsemane, we can offer ourselves and our futures. When it doesn’t make sense to our understanding, when it’s tough, we can trust. When its scary and we’re not certain we want to walk through what that little “piece of paper” will say…
 
 
We can trust in the Lord.
 
 
As we head into this Pray series, this month of prayer, know that it is for you, my friend, and me. It’s for us to be reminded that our Father desires that we draw close to Him through prayer. He wants even the little parts that seem foolish, the parts where we raise our hands, immediately answering with fear versus trust.
  
 God wants us to trust Him in all our ways.
 
 
I eventually gave Him “my way” in North Carolina. Fear was set aside and trust was put in focus. I prayed, “Lord, I want Your will concerning Oklahoma. Show me Your truth.”
 
The end result has included a few speed bumps, but it has been beautiful and full of straight paths. I wouldn’t change a thing. I now happily write to you from God’s beauty of Oklahoma. 
 
And, Daddy and me? We’re closer than ever.
 
Do you have an area where you hesitate to put your hand in the prayer bag, where fear or your own understanding is making life decisions?
 
Can I encourage you to simply trust all your ways to the Father that loves you?
 
Pray on, my friend. Straight paths are just ahead. Below is a printable prayer card for you. Click here to print. Enjoy!
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Do you struggle with Rejection?

Subscribe below to receive the 3-day devotional Removing the Sting of Rejection in your inbox for FREE. Use this devotional to build your spiritual muscles to counter the sting of rejection.

Comments

  1. Crystal Storms says

    November 4, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    Kristi, it is hard to picture you sighing at your husband’s request. You make it look so easy to follow your husband and trust our Heavenly Father. Thank you for sharing your challenging moments and how it drew you closer to God because His desire is for us to trust, obey, and draw closer to Him.

    Reply
  2. Kristi Woods says

    November 4, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    Trust and obey, there’s no other way. You are so right, Crystal. Some of the most impactful testimonies are raw and real. It may look easy on the outside (and it’s so funny to hear you say that because it feels awfully messy at times, even on the outside!), but there’s certainly a battle for the heart that’s real for all of us. Thanks for commenting, my friend. I always love chatting with you. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Kim says

    March 20, 2015 at 2:02 am

    Kristi, I found comfort in that verse too this week – thanks for sharing your encouraging words on #livefree – have a great day! Kim Stewart
    http://www.kimstewartinspired.com

    Reply
    • Kristi Woods says

      March 20, 2015 at 4:51 pm

      Thanks for the encouragement, Kim. The Lord is a comfort, isn’t He? Yeah, buddy!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Headshot of Kristi Woods, woman with shoulder-length brown hair with coral-colored shirt
Welcome!

I’m Kristi. I write stories: God’s, yours, & a few pretend people. (Christian romance and Christian nonfiction)

Find encouraging stories or links to them at this site, as well as faith-building tools like Bible studies and more for people like you and me. (Sometimes my characters use them, too!)

So grab a seat, prop up your feet, and please feel welcome.

Oh, in case you’re interested, here’s my story.

 

Subscribe Here

KristiWoods.net sign-up form

YES, PLEASE!
Email me updates & offer access to a WHOLE LIBRARY of free faith-building downloads, stories, and more.

Now Available

Book cover for The Many Lives of Veronica

picture of printable scripture cards from Psalms - for sale in the Kristi Woods Etsy Studio

Digital Bible Study cover picturing sand grains for Shake Off Discouragement

Thumbnail of 12 Scripture Cards, verses from Psalms, printable and available in the Kristi Woods Etsy Studio

Products for sale (Digital Bible studies, bible verse cards) on graphic for Kristi Woods Etsy story - Shop Christian products

Picture of free 30-day Psalms reading challenge with Christian blog post title

Notepad, pen, glasses, and drink on a white surface with the title of this Christian podcast

A 6-Episode Podcast to Help Supercharge Your Faith

Speaking Events

 

Popular Posts

Introducing post 5 Ways to Grow Your Faith

Christian Blog Post title




 

 

This site uses affiliate links. Click here to read the full disclosure and here to read a note about our affiliates.

Topics

Anxiety Bible Bible Memory Verses Bible study Blogs Books Christian Marriage Christian Parenting Christian Podcasts Christmas Courage in the Bible Discouragement in the Bible Easter Faith Fear in the Bible Forgive Free Resources Friendship God Gratitude Guest Post Healing Hope Identity in Christ Love Outreach Prayer Salvation Scripture Testimonies Thanksgiving Trust

Pin with Me!


For Sharing

Kristi Woods

Copyright © 2022 Kristi Woods | Site by MRM | Privacy & Disclosure