We trust people who are like us.
Think about who you vote for, who you sit next to in church, and who you let watch your kids. It’s people who are like you. We constantly surround ourselves with like-minded people because we trust them. We want to follow leaders who think like us because we agree with their decisions. We look for friends who “get us” because finding someone who thinks like us and who acts like us makes our relationships easier.
But there’s a problem with our criteria of trust when it comes to God, because, in many ways, God isn’t like us. His ways are not our ways.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9)
Recently, I was reading in 1 Samuel about the people of Israel and the way that they begged Samuel for an earthly king. They didn’t want God as their king. Instead, they wanted a leader that they could see, and touch, and lead them into battle against other nations. They wanted a king who was like them. So that’s exactly what God gave them when He gave them Saul. Saul was insecure, prideful, and fickle—exactly like the people of Israel. And because he was like them, He was nothing like the leader the people needed. What they really needed a king who was not like them. They needed a king whose ways where higher.
As women of God, at some point during our walks with the Lord, all of us will come face-to-face with the reality that God’s ways are not our ways. Sooner or later we will find out that His plans don’t always line up with our own. And it’s in those moments that we all have to chose: will we trust Him even though His ways are different than ours, or will we ask for a king who is more like us?
But just like the Israelites, we don’t need a God who is like us. We need one who is better and higher. God’s ways aren’t just different than our ways, His ways are higher. Even when we can’t see it, His ways are better. He sees the bigger picture and He’s writing the greater story. We may not always understand His ways, but we can always trust Him. Thankfully, when His ways are beyond understanding, so is His peace (Phil. 4:7).
Because we have a King whose ways are higher than ours, there will be days when our wills clash against His own. But that’s when we remember Jesus, the King who was like us, and yet completely different, who came to earth to show us the way: “not my will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). That prayer is what it looks like to trust and serve a God whose ways are not your ways.
He is a far more trustworthy King than one just like us, and His ways are far more trustworthy than our own.
Put your faith in His will today; you won’t be let down.
Your friend,
Taylor
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Great post! Thank you!
This brought me to tears today. Thank you. Do you have a Bible study that has a similar theme or message?
Hi friend! We’re so glad this encouraged you! Yes, we have several studies in the Well-Watered Co. but I would recommend Crown Him King particularly for learning to trust God’s Ways!