[COVID Crisis Series 22 of 25] Trusting God in Tough Times

The following is a full transcript of a Facebook Live, where Susie is speaking extemporaneously – she is unscripted and unedited.

(00:01):

Hey friends, Susie Miller here. And sorry about the little glitch before the I don’t know. It wasn’t working. Internet is the bane of my existence on the road. I would love to talk to you today about trusting God in tough times. I’m going to give folks a minute to come on here because I had a few folks who actually messaged me and DMed me and said, Hey, can you talk about this a little bit more? Because saying, I trust God and actually going about trusting. God are really hard. And there there’s a gap there that people are feeling and experiencing. So let’s talk about that together.

(00:38):

Drinking coffee got a little tickle in my throat. It’s not Corona. It is actually allergies and we’re in Arizona where it’s warm and sunny. And I’m so thankful for that. But my allergies are terrible and I gotta tell ya every time I cough or I have this tickle, you know, my mind goes to anxiety and it didn’t used to be that way. Wow. In just a few weeks, we’ve changed the way we look at everything. And I think that also changes the way we look at God or causes us to pause and look at God differently or question God or question our faith, or wonder what we can do to deepen our relationship with him. And if you spend any time with me at all, you know, that I’m all about helping people have better relationships with God, themselves, and others.

(01:22):

And I think that this question comes up so much because we feel out of control. I feel terribly out of control. And actually last night I made the mistake of watching the news before I went to bed and I got up this morning and I said to my husband, Oh my gosh, I did the very thing that I tell people not to do. You know, I’m not taking my own advice. And that was, I listened to the news. And then I went to check something on Facebook because I knew somebody was going to post about, this is us my favorite show. And I saw something about COVID of course, and I read it and it made me more anxious. And so as I was going to bed, I was remembering that this is not something I want to do. This is not who I want to be.

(02:01):

I want to shift my focus and really be disciplined about not looking at the news before I go to bed because that sticks in my mind all night. And so I just put on some music, some worship music. The other night I went to sleep, listening to Michael W. Smith was doing a live concert from his living room. Hey, Robert, good to see you. He was doing a live concert from his living room. And so I just was like, let me flood my mind with some truth. And so when we do that, we shift where our brain focuses at night. So that’s just a little tip while I’m waiting for some folks. All right, let’s dive into, how do we actually go about trusting God? We talk about, Hey, I trust Godness or God says, trust me, or we hear, you know, I’ve told people my mantra, I trust you, Jesus.

(02:41):

And that mantra and that comment and that little prayer that I say so many times during the day. And if you look at my journal, it’s written all through it is a real way of ascenting. Giving ascent of taking our mind and putting it secondary no, putting our feelings secondary to our mind. You know? So when I say, I trust you, Jesus it is a willful ascent in my head that says, you know, I choose to trust God, but how do we go about doing that when we’re bombarded with news and uncertainty. And we’re not sure about which way to go, who to believe, what news to follow, or even what to do. The other day, John needed to go out and pick up some prescriptions for me because they said, you know, it’s smart to have a 30 day supply.

(03:22):

And because I’m high risk with some lung issues and immune issues have not gotten out of the house, except, for a walk in the outside, but I’ve not gone into the outside world. For, I think we’re working on two weeks now, now. But I knew that in that moment of him going to the pharmacy, I had this fear of what if he encounters somebody and if he gets sick, what if he brings it in here? And I know that’s been a worry for him. And in that moment, I had to pause and stop. And I use these two tips that I’m gonna tell you now, first, I think we have to tell God exactly what’s going on in Psalm 62:8, It says, pour out your heart before him trust in the Lord, I’m going to read this to exactly trust in him at all times, old people pour out your heart before him, God is our refuge.

(04:05):

And so for me to take refuge in God means I got to tell him what’s going on inside of me. And if you saw me during the day, you’d see me having these conversations. Sometimes I look up, sometimes I’m waving my hands, talking to God, but I am telling him what I think feel I’m afraid of question wonder all day long in between, the living, the working, the doing. And I think the reason God, tells us to talk to him to tell us our thoughts and hearts is because then we’re not alone in them. I think that’s one of the reasons, and I love that this verse in Psalms, which is a book of worship, it is in the scriptures of book of worship, which means that it is worshipful for us to tell God what we think and feel.

(04:46):

And I love that because sometimes we get all caught up in worship, has to look out proper or singing the right songs or praying the right prayer. And sometimes my worship of God is I don’t get this. I don’t know what’s going on. God. I’m afraid. I’m worried about, you know, my kiddos who are living on their own and all grown up and aren’t here and aren’t in my house where I can control them and make sure they’re doing all the things that I think they should be doing to stay safe. You know, and God, that worries me and God, I’m having trouble trusting you. And God, I’m afraid that my husband’s going to get coughed on. All the crazy things that come in our head, I don’t know what yours are. They could be. I’m worried about my business. I mean, that has come to me too.

(05:22):

I’m worried about the economy. I’m worried about fill in the blank. And what I love about this verse is, God, says telling him what we think and feel is worship. He wants us to, he invites us to tell him what he said and what we feel, what we think we’re afraid of, what we’re questioning. Like where are you in all this? God, I don’t understand. That is my prayer so often because I don’t understand, but what I do know is that God can handle whatever we bring to him. And he asked us to pour out our hearts before him. So, you know, when I have time with the Lord in the morning when I’m studying and doing that, that is one time. But throughout my day, when I am walking, by the way, making dinner, washing dishes, I’m working with clients on my walk outside to get sanity.

(06:06):

I am talking to God. One of my recent ones is, Hey, I live in a tiny house, John and I live in 340 square feet. And it is a lot of together time. And getting outside is huge for us. And we live in this beautiful part of the country, which was part of why we did this. So we could see beautiful parts of the country, but the allergies are off the charts, right? So I look at the allergies, they’re in the red zone. My doctor says, stay inside when they’re in the red zone because that could cause, you know, congestion and breathing and these lung issues. And I’m looking at God going, how can the allergies be bad on top of being stuck in my house? And I just feel like, you know, if I don’t get that out of me, it sits in here and it simmers and it makes me frustrated.

(06:43):

And it makes me question. And I just want to invite us to be honest with God, because God can handle our questions. Now, honestly, he didn’t change the allergy count. I woke up the next day and it was still high. And so part of our conversation with God is also willing to trust that God is bigger than we are. We need to tuck ourselves. I’m drinking my coffee here, tuck ourselves up under him. God is a refuge for us. We can tuck ourselves up under God’s wings. I, I talk about like my son, who’s big over six feet and sometimes really struggling. He’ll come in and put his head on my shoulder and he’ll go, hi mama. And I always know that’s kind of code for, I need to talk about something or life is hard and I just kinda love on him a minute or two and let him go.

(07:23):

Cause he’s a grown man, but I know that’s kind of code for I’m feeling like the world is big for me. Can you be a safe place for me right now? And I think that’s what God is doing for us. God is offering us for him to be our refuge and part of the way God is our refuge. And we come and tuck ourselves up under God’s strength and provision and sovereignty is we tell him exactly what we’re thinking and feeling. There is nothing we can say to God that he can’t handle. There’s nothing we can tell God about what we think and feel and are afraid of even our questions about God that will change the way he loves us and delights in us. And if you’re a parent, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I learned more about God’s love for me by becoming a mama because my kids could do say, you know, be anything even their worst ugliest selves.

(08:08):

And they were still mine. They were still my kiddos and I love them. And that’s how God is thinking about and loving you. And as John, my friend, John Hulan just said, yes, he already knows. He knows what you’re thinking. Anyway, my spiritual mentor talks to me a lot about this. He says, Susie, just hold, open your hands to God and say, this isn’t a surprise to you. We’ve been here before. Here I am. Again, Lord with my questions, with my thoughts, with my ponderings and I bring them to you and folks, God calls that an act of worship. Okay? So first thing I want to invite you to do is tell God how you think, feel, ask questions all day long. I would invite you for one day just to try it, just to try every time that thought comes to your head or a question that you look up in God, and you go, you know Lord, I don’t know, or I’m frustrated with or help me here because I don’t know how to handle this.

(08:57):

Or I’m wondering about fresh vegetables today. When is it safe to go to the store? I have all these questions and have your life be an ongoing dialogue with God that will begin to change your countenance. And I promise you will, you will feel his presence in powerful ways. The second thing that I’m going to ask you to do today is be thankful. Part of trusting God is being thankful. And man, that is hard. You know, I’m going to go back to my allergy story. It seems so small, but for me in my tiny little space, I walk up and down our hallway here. Cause I can’t really go outside, but for a few minutes because of the whole allergy thing. So what I had to do is go, okay, how can I be thankful in this? Cause God says, for says first Thessalonians five 18 for us to be thankful in all things.

(09:39):

Okay. So I paused and went, okay, well I’m thankful that it’s sunny. I’m thankful that there’s beautiful trees outside my window. I’m thankful they’re going to provide shelter and shade for XYZ. And I was pulling thankful. And it’s like from the bottom of the barrel, what could I find to be thankful for? Because God says to be thankful. And sometimes I think where that little child who kind of sits there all, you know, that little girl I have loved the story of, she was told to be still and she’s sitting still in her fist or her fists are tight. And she said, well, I might be sitting still on the outside, but I’m moving around like crazy on the inside. And I think sometimes our thankfulness is like that. We do it out of obedience. But when we start, you know, I’m going to be thankful, God, because you said to be thankful.

(10:18):

The other day I had a friend share with me that it’s been raining for four days in where she lives. And I love the sound of the rain. And I said that to her. And she was like, of course you would find something to be thankful for in a rainy day. And it kind of made me chuckle because I thought, Oh, I’m learning a new habit, a habit of thankfulness, a habit of thankfulness, which is to say to God, I’m thankful for. And when I start doing that, I find so many things I’m thankful for. I’m thankful for my time on Facebook with friends, I’m thankful for online connections. I’m thankful for my husband and the way he provides for me. I’m thankful that my kids, you know, have food and have shelter and have friends or have husbands who love them. What can you be thankful for?

(10:59):

And when you begin to do that, you’ll feel your shoulders drop. I wear my shoulders earrings sometimes when I’m stressed, but you’ll feel your shoulders drop. You’ll feel your breath change because you’ll begin to think and feel and have this countenance come over you because faith and fear can’t live in the same thought. And thankfulness is an act of faith. A way we trust God is to be thankful. I’m thankful God that you’re in control and I’m not. I’m thankful that I have a faith. I’m thankful that I can be honest with you. I’m thankful that I can turn to scripture and fill my mind with things. Even when my feelings don’t line up, all of these things are practices of the habit of thankfulness. And I really believe that when you hear like, Oh, we’ll just trust God in this. My question always goes to, well, how give me a how, give me some practical hows.

(11:48):

So I know what to do to actually trust God in this. And so for today I would invite you to tell him everything you think, feel wonder question and two, to begin this habit of thankfulness verbally out loud. So your ears hear that you’re being thankful. If you could do that, I’d love to know how your day changes. I’d love to know what aha moment you have. So come back to the post, pop them in the comments, DM me and we will be on this journey together. Finally, if you have any questions about better relationships, the relationship stuff of all this with your spouse, with your kiddos, with your God, with your friends, please, please, please PM me or pop. I mean, if you don’t want to pop in the comments privately PM me, I will, I will take them. I will address them. I don’t have all the answers, but here’s what I know. If we show up and we go through this together, we will become stronger, more faith-filled, more grounded people. And there are people watching you. There are people looking at how you lead through this. You might not even know that, but they’re watching your countenance. They’re watching your faith. They’re watching your journey. They’re watching your positiveness. They’re watching your honesty about the struggles and you are leading people just in the way you’re being through this. So let’s do this together. Folks. Thanks for tuning in. And I will see you tomorrow.