Trusting God When We Don’t Understand

(Today’s guest post is from my sweet friend Kristine Brown, who has a message of living with Unwavering Trust in an Unfailing God. Not sure about y’all, but this is a message I need to preach to myself over and over again!)

Two CT scans, an ultrasound, and an MRI revealed a mass pressing dangerously close to my tailbone. The radiation oncologist ordered a PET scan to check for spreading. The PET scan would show any other cancerous cell clusters in my body. I prepared myself for the test that morning, only to get a shocking phone call. 

Insurance had denied the test.

Why would they refuse a test that would tell us if cancer had spread? Isn’t that information we need before knowing how to proceed with treatment? My mind unraveled with what this could mean for the days ahead, the plan, and my fate. My doctor reassured me that he had appealed the ruling. He scheduled a call with the insurance company to relay by phone why he felt the test was necessary. I drove to the cancer center as planned and waited in his office while he took the call. A second shock. He came back with yet another no.

Even after my doctor’s convincing testimony to the insurance company, they still denied the PET scan.

In that instant, I had a choice. Every bit of my go-getter, take-charge nature screamed for me to fight it. Call a supervisor. Send emails. Post my rant on social media and ask for opinions from any doctors and nurses on my friends list. But with my thoughts tied in crazed knots, a sensation deep in my chest beckoned me to trust what I knew to be true.

“For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below” (Joshua 2:11 NLT).

In our lives we will have times when we want answers more than anything else. That need to know will send our minds spinning out of control unless we remind ourselves that God is supreme. 

In Joshua chapter 2, a woman named Rahab was given an opportunity of a lifetime. She had a choice between doing what the world expected of her or trusting God’s sovereignty. Rahab’s story inspires me to trust God when the odds are stacked against me. She held firm her belief in the Lord to do what He promised for her and her family. From Rahab’s example, we can learn to demonstrate that same life-changing level of trust.

 

I share more about Rahab’s story in my new book release, Cinched: Living with Unwavering Trust in an Unfailing God. I also share how Rahab inspired my own trust-walk. Along the way I discovered this truth:

 

“Freedom awaits us as we release the need-to-know and rest in the truth that our struggle could be part of God’s bigger plan.” – Cinched

 

Yes, there are times when God calls us to make that hard phone call or fight for that test. There are also times when we need to rest in the assurance that God has it all under control. Either way, He is faithful. Even through cancer. 

 

God works in the midst of our hurt when we don’t understand how things could possibly work out. 

Looking back on the uncertainty of my struggle, I still wonder why God allowed the PET scan to be denied. But I do feel certain of this. God wanted me to focus on what would remain unseen, not on what the test would show. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV) 

I needed to focus on God alone.

Are you facing a battle today that’s left you with more questions than answers? Are you feeling unraveled over the uncertainty of your situation and your future? Let the truth of Rahab’s words be your battle cry today. “For the Lord our God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” Trust in that.

 

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Kristine Brown is a ministry wife, mom, stepmom, and Mimi. A former chronic worrier, Kristine loves connecting women today with women of the Bible and sharing lessons learned through her website, freelance writing, and speaking to women’s groups. Any given day you can find her texting her young adult kids, checking on neighbors, or searching for a new way to cook broccoli. To learn more, visit kristinebrown.net. Find out more about Cinched: Living with Unwavering Trust in an Unfailing God at Cinchedbook.com.