When you’re overwhelmed and need to be reminded how to trust God

Tom Harper July 8, 2024

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Have you ever gotten to a point of stress or worry and wondered why God was allowing it? Maybe you're not there now. But you have been … or will be.

I'm there now myself.

My worry and stress are swirling around each other. Together, they're obscuring my trust that God has it all under control.

Intellectually, I trust God with all my heart. I've been here many times throughout my life, and he's delivered me every time.

Whenever I've gotten to a point of desperate reliance, he's pulled me through in sometimes miraculous ways.

So why, then, am I persisting in my current struggles as if I don't believe?

I confound myself sometimes.

The answer the Holy Spirit led me to is in Mark 9. There, a despondent father has brought his possessed son to Jesus for deliverance. All else has failed—even the disciples couldn't drive out the demon.

Jesus tells the dad in verse 23, "Everything is possible for one who believes." The man replies, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Then Jesus drove out the unclean spirit.

Do you ever feel like this? Where you believe God can do anything, but act as if he won't help you?

This is one of our human weaknesses. I certainly have it.

A friend just texted me, knowing my current struggle. He said, "God is near. Be still."

This truth brought a wave of relief. It didn't immediately change what I'm dealing with, but it reminded me what I am to do when my weakness drives me to act as someone without faith.

When I'm trying to do everything, and yet nothing is working, I know what to do.

Be still.

God is at work. Truly, he is.

Trusting him still,

Tom Harper
Founder, BiblicalLeadership.com
LinkedIn profile | Books

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Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More »

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