Full Transcript for Walking in Trust

for us is before we can follow God's guidance or experience his peace, we first have to loosen our grip on the outcome. We cannot say we trust God while we're still trying to control every detail of where he leads us. So Seth, let's start with surrender. What does it actually look like to release control and trust God with the outcome? So for surrender, so just to kind of overview real quick too, so our Roots Morning Journal is a scripture journal. And so you would write out the scripture and then you go into what the roots stands for, and surrender is that part one. So the first like nine weeks of the study is all about surrendering to God. But I have realized that one of my Biggest obstacles to trust is that I like to control things and I like to think I'm the one that's in control. I like to be prepared, I like to plan ahead, I think through details, and I know what I'm getting myself into before I commit. and those can actually be really good gifts, organization, intentionality, diligence, but my sinful heart can take those good gifts and turn them into an attempt to control an outcome. And that is where I am reaching my limits. and so there is a difference between stewarding what God has given me and trying to be sovereign over it. I can plan my day, but I cannot control what happens in it. I can make wise decisions, but I can't control how other people are gonna respond. I can faithfully pursue something that God has placed on my heart. But I also cannot determine whether, when, or how it succeeds. So that's where Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 becomes so challenging. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. Trust requires me to acknowledge that my understanding is limited. sometimes surrender means saying, Lord, I don't know what you're doing here. But I trust that you do know. it means losing my grip on the outcome while remaining obedient in the present. and Ruth Chow Simons, an author who writes in the book Now and Not Yet, talks about it is so good. Yeah. talks about how sometimes faithfulness to God and his word actually puts us on a course where circumstances get worse instead of better. and this is where like knowing God's promises and his character becomes essential. So it's important that we're in God's word to know what those are. faith in God's future grace sustains us when today's circumstances don't make sense. and I also think about Lamentations three, twenty-two through twenty-six. Jeremiah is not writing from a comfortable place, yet he can say, Great is your faithfulness. God's faithfulness is not proven by everything going according to my plan. It is proven by who God is. So sometimes surrender is simply just starting where you are. And we don't need it, we don't need to wait until we have all the clarity or all the confidence or all the perfect circumstances. Where I find myself tomorrow begins with what I choose today. And that has been a huge lesson for me. I can either React to the

life God has given me, or I can respond to it in faithfulness. I want to learn to respond. So once we loosen our grip on the outcome of our lives, we create room to actually listen to him. Because surrender doesn't mean we stop making decisions or stop moving forward. It means that we stop demanding that God follow our plan and become willing to follow his. That leads us into the next part of our journal, which is guidance. So following God when you cannot see the whole path. I think this was a really good section for me. so but I think guidance is something we all say we want. but sometimes we only want God's guidance when it agrees with the direction we've already chosen. when most of the time this is our direction and this is where God wants us to go. so we're going the opposite way of where really where God wants us to. So that's why guidance has to come after surrender. We cannot genuinely ask God to lead us while still demanding control over where He takes us. So in Psalm 32, 8 it says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. God does not point towards a path, and that drives me nuts. But he and he doesn't lead us towards the path and leave us alone. he instructs us, he teaches us, he counsels us and he watches over us and he's standing right next to us when we're doing all of this. for me, the hard part is is that I do not only want the next step. I want the entire plan and the explanation of every part while we work together. And you don't get that. And there's a reason behind it. And I still struggle with that so much because I want to know where I'm going to be in five years. God knows where we're gonna be in five years. I can have my hopes, but is that really where God wants me? I mean, clearly God's been shutting a lot of doors and what Stuff calls it as giving a lot of roadblocks lately. so where I thought I was, I it's just it's out the window. It it's God's way, not my way. But sometimes God gives us enough light for today because he wants us to continue depending on him and not the plan. And that is the planner, and all of us have to understand that. He's gonna give us light for today and we only need to focus on today. It is not about what's happening tomorrow and next week and next month and next year. And that's where we we need to stay, stay into every day. we can also become so focused on finding a hidden answer that we overlook the guidance God has already given us in scripture. His direction will never contradict his word. And we have to be careful about treating every feeling as God's direction, too. Fear can sound like wisdom, and excitement can sound and feel like confirmation, and impatience can create a false. Urgency. And we have to be careful with that to know truly and sit and you know pray upon it and ask the Holy Spirit to help with that for you. And in Isaiah 30, 21 says, This is the way, walk in it. At some point, guidance requires movement, but we have to stop analyzing every outcome and just take the next faithful step. So I'm learning that I do not need to be perfect about clarity to practice my faithful obedience that we need to be. And that my responsibility is to stay close to God, see the biblical wisdom, and obey what He places right in front of me. So as we sort surrender our plan and follow God one step at a time, peace begins to grow. So not necessarily because our circumstances have changed. But because we stop trying to carry what belongs to God. And Steph, what that brings us to your your section about peace. Peace. Yeah. So our part three in that journal is about peace, resting in God's presence regardless of your circumstances. so I used to think that peace meant that everything around me was peaceful. and if the circumstances were settled, the relationships are good. The plan was working and I knew what was coming next, then I could rest. but scripture gives us a much deeper picture. biblical peace is not dependent on peaceful circumstances, it is rooted in the presence and character of God. and that is something that I had to learn personally. and so I can be uncertain and still be secure. I can be disappointed and still have hope. And I can be, I cannot understand what God is doing and still know that He is good. It's holding the balance of the both and, of the tension and the peace that we have with Him. Lamentations 3, 22 through 26 reminds me that God's mercies are new every morning. I don't receive grace once and then have to figure out the rest of my life on my own. I need his faithfulness again today. So sometimes the most faithful thing that I can do is wait. Waiting can feel unproductive and in a culture that celebrates action. But scripture teaches us that waiting on God is an active expression of trust. because that's where he's shaping and molding your heart and and even your impatience. so Ruth Chow Simons, again, the author we quoted earlier. She gave us the reminder that we live in the not yet. And that is helpfully and that is helpful here because we often faithfully walk through circumstances that aren't what we have hoped for. But God is still at work in the hidden, unseen, and unapplauded places. I love the thought that whatever you will, Lord, the hidden, unseen, unapplotted. Use it for your glory and our good. That changes the way that I look at seasons that feel small or even disappointing. So peace comes when I remember that my life is not being wasted simply because it does not look the way I thought it would. so well said. And I think that peace for me, I felt like used to mean everything was just okay. There was no conflict, bad news or uncertainty threatening the plan that I've created. but that kind of peace disappears the moment something changes. biblical peace is different because its source is Christ, not our circumstances. It can remain present even when life is painful and unsettled. peace is not the absence of emotion, and trusting God

does not mean we never feel worried or overwhelmed. it means we know where to return when those feelings begin taking over. so sometimes I have to return to God five times in the same hour, and sometimes it's not every hour. But that does not mean my faith is failing. It means I am practicing dependence. And peace is not knowing exactly what comes next. It is knowing God will already be there when it does come. So I think peace has looked different for both of us in different seasons. what has God taught you about resting in his presence when the circumstances around you were not peaceful? That's a great question. and so we're gonna go into Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 for that. and it is really where we built the entire journal around. And that is trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding and all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. and so I'm gonna break this verse down. Trust in the Lord, it says. So trust begins with the object of I am not ultimately trusting in myself. I'm not trusting in my preparation or my personality. I'm not trusting in the resources that I have or even my ability to make a good decision. I am trusting in the Lord, period. With all your heart. God doesn't ask me to trust him with parts of my life I don't care about while keeping the important pieces for myself. The wholehearted trust means that bringing the dreams, the fears, the relationships, the plans, the unknowns, all of it to him. Do not lean on your own understanding. This is particularly convicting for me because I love understanding. I want the why. I want the how. I, you know, I want the timeline. Lord, give me that outcome. but my understanding is very limited. and God is not. and then it also talks about in all your ways acknowledge him. So trust is not just something I practice when I'm facing a major decision. It is acknowledging God in my work, in my motherhood, in the relationships and ministry that he's provided me. The creativity, the responsibilities, and even those ordinary, mundane moments. in all your ways acknowledge him. And he will make straight your paths, which means he's going to give you absolutely everything you want, which is not true. We wish it was. Yes. this does not promise that the path will always be easy. it promises that God is directing it. and The straight path may include waiting and difficulty and detours that you don't expect and even opportunities that you may have never even imagined. So for me, this has meant recognizing that God is inviting me to take steps of faith even when I cannot see the whole outcome. I am learning to say yes when he calls me into something unfamiliar, and then trust him with what happens next. writing my first devotional Bible study is been a hard one. and it's I'm trusting him with the steps along the way of when to move forward and when to just wait and and process and wait until I get more direction. But seeing that lead into songwriting has been one of the most unexpected pieces to this. That God is creating. So I've been preparing, I've been writing, and then out came these songs to go with it. And and I've even been able to start writing with Travis, which is super sweet, super so sweet. so also starting a Titus II discipleship ministry with church, that basically we're taking our women to the next step in discipling one another. and what is biblical womanhood. And I'm so excited for this, but this was another step and a leap of faith that, you know, I've I've been studying, I have been seeking out wise counsel from women that have already been there as women's ministry directors. I've sat with my pastor and talked with him, and I just keep getting the green light of go. And and so I'm taking that as Lord, that's not a roadblock, so I'm gonna keep going until you tell me no. And even asking spiritual mothers to lead groups has been so sweet. And we I'm excited to kick it off. So these are just ways personally that I am practically trusting the Lord with what it is he's placing in my life and what he's calling me to do. I don't need to know the entire outcome in order to be obedient to what he's calling me to do. God is asking me to be faithful, not omniscent. He is asking me to listen, obey, and surrender and trust him with the results. So hard. Uh-huh. And that is freeing because I am not the author of my story. Even though I like to think I am. God is the author. and I get to be faithful in the chapter that He is actually giving me. So maybe walking in trust is less about figuring out what comes next and more about developing a rhythm of returning to God right where you are. So that is really what we wanted this Roots journal to help women practice, not perfection, but daily dependence. So want to just take a little bit of talking about the practical side of this. You know, we've now talked about walking in trust and the surrender and the peace and the guidance that we need. So let's kind of break it down into Nicole's practical tips. Start with God's truth before the world's noise. We already know this. We preach this every single episode. So this is not going to change our opinion whatsoever. So if I begin my morning with my phone, messages, work, or everything that needs to be done, I'm usually reacting before I even decided how I want to respond. So starting with scripture reminds me who God is, who I am in Christ, and what is actually true before the demands of the day begin speaking to me. we do not have to understand every detail of the passage for God's word to begin shaping our hearts. The purpose is not perfect comprehension. It's faithful obedience. This is the first part of roots. Read and reflect on God's word. What does this passage reveal about God? And what truth do I need to carry into today? So then turn what you read into prayer and obedience. Reading scripture is so important. But we also have to ask what needs to change because of what we

just read. That's the first O in roots is obey God's direction. Where is the Holy Spirit inviting me to grow, release, confess, or obey? And sometimes it's all four for me that I'm having to to journal on it just depending on the day. Okay. The second O is offer prayer and praise. This is my favorite one. this is where we bring God our gratitude, our fears, our questions, relationships, decisions, and the things we are still trying to control. So if you can imagine Seven Eyes lists is pretty long. I mean, we're still trying to control. But prayer does not have to sound polished. That was like one of the best things that I really took when I really started diving into all of this. Is I felt like there was always that perfect prayer that you had to say, and that it had This you had to say, you know, this in the beginning. And, you know, and it was like I was picking it to pieces and all God wants to do is talk to you. And for for us to be able to speak to him. So it does not have to be perfect. Prayer does not have to sound Paul, I already said that. So AI mixed that. Some mornings it may simply be God, I do not understand what you are doing, but help me trust in you today. Easy enough. It doesn't have to be long long-winded. And I'm sure Steph, you have that whole the same thing that some days few words, but you're speaking to God, and that's all that's important. So the next thing is faithfully tend to what God has placed in front of you. That's the T and roots is to tend to your stewardship. Trusting God does not mean ignoring our responsibilities. It means caring faithfully for what He has actually entrusted us to do. This could include our bodies, our homes, our time, our work, our relationships and responsibilities. We do not have to do everything every day, even though for the longest time I thought I had to. I had a checklist that lasted forever and my planner was my Bible, but clearly my planner is out the window and I don't I don't live that that life anymore. But we can identify what needs our attention today, today and only today. So that's where trust becomes practical, especially for me. I can release what I cannot control while still caring well for what God has placed in my hands for that day. So some days faithful stewardship may mean working hard. Others days it means resting, saying no, asking for help, or recognizing that I do not have the capacity to carry one more thing today. The next one is take one faithful step and release the results. So the S in roots is step forward in faith. We ask where we need God's strength or wisdom and identify the next step He is asking us to take. I naturally want to know the next 10 or 20, but God often gives me only the one directly in front of me. And that's all that we need. We don't need to know the next steps. It's just that one that we need for today. So the Walking in Trust Journal helps us practice this rhythm for 12 weeks as we move through surrender, guidance, and peace. And it gives

us a place to return to God's word and apply it in real life. That's the important part. We we read so many books. And they give us so much great practical, but there's nothing of us being able to work and reflect. And that's why we recreated this for for everyone. and really, this is for women who keeps reacting, keeps reaching for control because she is afraid of what will happen if you let go. Stephanie and I are still here. You know, we we've been there, we are going through it. And just know that your life is not crumbling. And you just having to take this one step and use this journal is gonna truly help with that. So it's also for women waiting for an answer or facing an uncertain decision or trying to find peace while life still feels unsettled. So this journal will not give you the full plan of your life. Sorry. But it will help you build that daily rhythm of returning to God's word who already knows the way for you. That's so good. I think that that is beautifully said, but also the beautiful thing about trust it's not something that we master once and never experience again. we keep coming back. We surrender again, we seek him again, we obey again. That's not gonna be perfect. and we just trust again. And that is why this journal is a practice, not a performance. 100%. And wrapping up our episode today, if you are facing something today and you do not know what comes next, remember you are not feeling because you do not have the whole plan. You just need the next step of that. And God is asking you to surrender what you cannot control, seek his guidance for the stuff that's in front of you, and rest in his presence while you wait. So ask yourself this. What am I holding too tightly on? Where am I leaning on my own understanding? And what is the next faithful thing God is asking you to do? You do not have to solve everything today. You won't. But begin with one honest prayer, one surrender decision, one faithful step, and one click to buy the roots journal. It's like that, but also just wanting to encourage the women who are listening, just that you do not have to have everything figured out. Okay. You are not behind because you don't know what comes next. and maybe your next faithful step is not a huge decision. maybe it's just simply really seeing one thing that you've been trying to control and saying, Lord, this belongs to you. So these scriptures were specifically chosen to kind of help guide your heart back to him. And I think that one of the greatest gifts of learning to walk in trust is that we don't have to know the ending to faithfully live the chapter that he has planned in front of us. So start where you are and just take that next step. Nicole has the best steps. So take her next steps. And don't forget that we have our roots morning journal of walking in trust. On our website is the best place to go for it. So that is groundedgrowth.org. and you can get the digital download there, and you can also get the link to purchase it on Amazon if you want it printed already. Anything else about our Roots Morning Journal? No, thank you for supporting us through all of this this journey. You guys are amazing. and we can't wait to start the next series in Motherhood Rooted in Grace. So in Motherhood Rooted in Grace. this is a series for the mom who loves her children deeply but sometimes feels the weight of trying to get motherhood right. and together we're going to talk about what it looks like to parent from a grace that we have already received in Christ rather than from guilt comparison or the pressure to be perfect. So we are going to start that next. Bye. Bye, friends. Yes. Thank you for joining us for another episode of Grounded Growth. We hope today brought you clarity, encouragement, and a gentle reminder that you're not walking this journey alone. If this episode spoke to you, we'd love for you to share it, subscribe, and leave a review. We'll see you next week. Until then, Stephanie Petry: Thank you for joining us for another episode of Grounded Growth. We hope today brought you clarity, encouragement, and a gentle reminder that you're not walking this journey alone. If this episode spoke to you, we'd love for you to share it, subscribe, and leave a review. We'll see you next week. Until then, stay grounded and keep growing. Nicole Ghirardi: stay grounded and keep growing.