Ask. Trust. Rest.

I had never stopped to contemplate the broad range of emotions we can experience in just one day, but in a recent Bible study with international students, we considered just that. Case in point: the day when Jesus fed the 5000 and then walked on water in the middle of the night. In Mark’s account,¹ we see 1) the disciples’ overwhelmedness at the size of the crowd; 2) rest and relief in retreat; 3) overwhelmedness 2.0 amid crowd resurgence; 4) compassion and pity; 5) inadequacy for a seemingly impossible task; 6) amazement at a miracle; 7) strain and exhaustion amid the storm; 8) sheer fright; 9) reassurance; and finally, 10) just plain awe. What a rollercoaster day! Can you relate? And except for a pause for private prayer, Jesus was with them the entire time. It was a study in contrast—the sufficiency and faithfulness of God amid the limitations and fear in mankind.

For far too long—and too much still— my conversations with God have involved more angst than seemingly they should. How is it that, despite His faithfulness in the past and His promises for tomorrow, I still harbor anxiousness, even though He is with me the entire time? Let’s turn to God’s Word for a relational remedy: ask, trust, and rest.

Ask. “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full,”² promised Jesus on the night of His betrayal. What may we conclude about the heart of God, who continually invites us to petition Him in prayer? That He means it? That He loves us? That He enjoys our joy? That He wants to reveal Himself to us? Yet God repeatedly invites us to ask, no matter our circumstances, no matter our need.

Trust. James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God . . . and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting . . . ”³ God’s invitation to ask comes with an exhortation to trust. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act,”⁴ assures the psalmist. Trust the wisdom, power, and faithfulness of Him who invites us to ask.

Rest. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you,”⁵ the prophet Isaiah marveled. Rest in God follows trust in God. Paul expounds: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”⁶ In other words, ask, trust, and rest. For Jesus is with us.

Father, we trust Your power and promises; we rest in Your faithfulness and love. Hear our petitions now. . .  We ask them in Jesus’ name. Amen.

¹ See Mark 6:30-56.
² John 16:24 ESV
³ James 1:5-6 ESV
⁴ Psalm 37:5 ESV
⁵ Isaiah 26:3 ESV
⁶ Philippians 4:6-7 ESV