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Trusting God and letting go of control sounds simple—until life gets busy, the to-do list grows, and I start living as though everything depends on me.

Do I Really Trust Him?

Do I really trust God?

That question followed me through an ordinary weekend and into a Monday morning when I desperately needed rest.

After days of preparing, hosting photographers, attending an event, talking with people, and keeping up with everything happening on the farm, I sat down beside our waterfall on Sunday to start my weekly brain dump—and fell asleep.

I don’t take naps. 😂 Apparently, I needed one.

The next morning, several things began coming together. During my study of Romans 1, I was asked what I might substitute for God in my own life. My answer was simple and uncomfortable:

Depending on myself instead of God.

Then I wrote a prayer:

Father, may I trust that You are in control and that I don’t need to be.

And my verse that day was Psalm 23:1:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.”

If He is my Shepherd, then I don’t have to be.

So instead of immediately tackling everything that needed done, I allowed myself a slow morning. I made lavender and peppermint tea, warmed a lavender eye pillow for my sore neck, took my unfinished brain dump outside, and sat beside the waterfall.

One of the things I wrote that morning was:

Notice and give thanks.

Later, standing at my kitchen window, I watched a little family of bluebirds splashing in the birdbath. My first instinct was to grab my phone and take a picture.

Instead, I stopped myself.

No. Just savor it. Just watch them.

And I did.

That small moment became another part of what God was teaching me about trust.

Sometimes trusting God looks like stopping even though there is more to do, or leaving something unfinished. Sometimes it means loosening our grip on control long enough to receive the life happening right in front of us.

But perhaps the biggest thing I’m learning is this:

I am not going to arrive.

I’m going to have to relearn things God has already taught me. I will get busy again. I’m going to try to take control again. There will be moments when I realize I’m no longer receiving what is right in front of me.

And there will be grace for those moments too.

Maybe life with the Shepherd isn’t about reaching a place where we perfectly trust, perfectly rest, perfectly notice, and perfectly receive.

Maybe it’s about learning to return.

Receive the moment. And when you realize you’re not receiving it, return to the Shepherd.

He was worthy to be trusted yesterday. He is worthy to be trusted today. And He will still be worthy to be trusted tomorrow.

You don’t have to arrive.

You have a Shepherd. 💜

Scripture: Romans 1:18–32; Psalm 23

In this episode: trusting God in everyday life, letting go of control, self-reliance vs. dependence on God, Christian rest, receiving the present moment, gratitude, Psalm 23, and finding grace when we have to learn the same lessons again.