Whom have I believed?

I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. - 2 Timothy 1:12

God has really been speaking to me through this verse over the past several days. Coming from someone who normally struggles to let go of worries and burdens of various kinds, there is such peace and freedom in knowing with confidence that God guards what we entrust to Him! And once we release something into His care, whatever it is, true to His word He will protect it and take better care of it than we ever could. And we can rest in Him (Matt. 11:28). That is His will for us! He never intends for us to bear our own burdens but that we surrender them continually to Him. After all, He bore them for us on the cross - they are His.

It's definitely taken me awhile to see that I haven't been giving God enough credit in this area. I have an overwhelming tendency to allow pressures to build up on me and then, out of a sense of guilt and/or responsibility, try to take them on myself, rather than releasing them consistently to God. I guess it comes down to this need I have to feel like I'm in control (apparently even when it makes me miserable), and I get scared when I realize I'm not. For most of my life I've prided myself on that sense of being in control and on my self-sufficiency, but in my relationship with God I know that surrendering complete control of everything to Him is the only way. Then, and only then will I truly experience the power of the Spirit-led life...Jesus Himself living through me. I love that God has been speaking to me so clearly about this and my need to trust Him more, and not just in theory but in action, by deliberately casting my cares on Him and leaving them at the foot of the cross. He longs to be that place of total liberation for me, with nothing weighing me down. And I long to give everything over to Him and allow Him to have His way. In His hands everything is safe and I can rest knowing that He is in control. And that He is faithful.

I think if I got a glimpse of just who it is that has my back...the magnitude of the One I'm trusting in...I'd say my Almighty God deserves all of the trust I can give Him and then some! And I'm sure I'd be unspeakably grateful that it's Him who is in control and not me in any way, shape, or form.

I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed...

Humble me, Lord, in Your sight. You are so much greater, so far beyond me in every way. Thank You for being my burden-bearer, my resting place, my freedom.

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. - Psalm 55:22

Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

Praise be to the LORD, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. - Psalm 68:19