Before You Begin
Pause. Quiet your mind, take a slow breath in and out. Stay in this moment.
Passage
Reading & Reflection
We all like certainty – it reduces stress by helping us know what to expect. That’s why we make plans, schedules and routines. We want to know what is going to happen next. We want to know which way the wind is blowing. It makes us feel in control – and that reduces stress.
God actually wired us that way – with a desire to know things – to discover. It’s what drives our world and science, and every day, things shift from the unknown category to the known. Every day, something else becomes less mysterious.
Philosophers have wondered what might happen as we come increasingly closer to knowing everything. Would we still need God? Can we one day be so certain about everything that we no longer need to satisfy ourselves with an answer of ”only God knows”?
God knew we might wonder this.
Trust is the opposite of knowing. It means that we have put our faith in something or someone else. But it also means we have to let go of our desire to know the outcome, because we will never know someone enough to predict exactly what they may or may not do. In real, genuine relationships, we have to be okay with trusting, with not knowing. Genuine relationships are not built on a set of facts about the other person, but on the experience of being in the uncertain messiness, the ambiguity, the “not-knowing” together. Real relationships are built on trust, not facts.
In today’s world, it can be challenging to trust because we have access to so much information. But this is exactly why trust is so much more important. We are wired to know, but we are wired even more to have genuine relationships. Adam and Eve’s sin was rooted in a desire to know over trusting God. At the beginning of our story, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil promised them knowledge, but it ultimately spoiled their trust.
We are approaching a time in our church where we must all relinquish our expectations of knowing what to expect, how it will unfold, and instead lean into the uncertainty and messiness of what might happen. Let us all be encouraged to seek a connection with God, Jesus and the Spirit at this time so that your relationship is in a place to accept the unexpected.
Bottom Line: Real relationships are built on trust. Are you ready to trust in God fully?
Morning Prayer
Lord, today I want to open my heart to you and be ready for the unexpected. I want to have a genuine relationship with you that is built on trust.
Evening Prayer
Lord, thank you for your Spirit. Thank you, Spirit, for moving in ways we cannot even understand. God, thank you for being in control because I know that your ways are bigger than mine. Open my heart to the unexpected and help me to trust you. I pray today that the still small voice of the Spirit here might become a hurricane of change in my life and in the world. Your will be done. Amen
What’s Next?
The prayer below was shared with Jeff Brodie from a church leader praying for you and for our church community.
Will you join us praying it daily?
Click here for a printable version.
Lord God, You are my God, and earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1). I come thirsty, longing for the living water that only Your Spirit can give (John 7:37–39).
Father, You promised that if I ask, You will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask You (Luke 11:13). So today, I ask: pour out Your Spirit upon me like rain on the thirsty land (Isaiah 44:3). Refresh me, renew me, and fill me with Your presence.
Holy Spirit, come with power. Just as You clothed the disciples with boldness (Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31), clothe me now. Fan into flame the gift You have given me (2 Timothy 1:6–7). Break my fear, stir my courage, and make me a faithful witness of Jesus.
Spirit of Truth, I ask You to search my heart. Jesus said You would convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). Shine Your light into my hidden places, expose what is false, and lead me into repentance. Do not let me grieve or quench You, but sanctify me through and through.
Lord Jesus, You promised that the Spirit of truth would guide me into all truth and glorify You (John 16:13–14). So I pray: open my mind to Your Word, shape my desires to Your will, and guard me from the lies of the enemy. Make me a lover of truth who walks in holiness and freedom.
Holy Spirit, I need Your discernment. You have said that “the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). Teach me to distinguish truth from error, light from darkness, wisdom from folly. “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God… but the person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things” (1 Corinthians 2:14–15). Give me spiritual understanding so I may know the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), test every spirit (1 John 4:1), and hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
And Holy Spirit, I invite Your leadership over every step of my life. “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14). Lead me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake (Psalm 23:3). Direct my steps, order my days, and show me the way I should go. “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Psalm 143:10). I surrender my decisions, my plans, and my future into Your hands.
Spirit of God, I confess that You are Lord, not me. Your Word says, “Do not get drunk on wine…but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). I long to be controlled, governed, and guided by You—not to use You for my purposes, but to be used by You for Yours. I desire to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), to “set my mind on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5), and to surrender to Your meaning and power in my life.
And I acknowledge the mystery: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Spirit, You move freely, sovereignly, beyond my control. All I can do is watch, listen, pay attention, and join the work You are already doing. Teach me to yield, to discern, and to follow wherever You lead.
Where You are, Spirit of God, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Transform me into the image of Christ with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). Fill me to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).
Renew me day by day (Titus 3:5–6). Let rivers of living water flow from within me, bringing life to a weary world (John 7:38). And may my life overflow with joy, peace, and hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
I surrender afresh to You, Lord. Come, Holy Spirit. Convict me, cleanse me, lead me, teach me, fill me, empower me, transform me, and take control—for the glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.
