Trusting Jesus on Your Journey

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Trust Jesus on Your Journey

All of us are on a journey, and along our journey, we have ups and downs.

During the past few weeks, we have been learning how we can get back up when life beats us down.

We believe the best way to live is to trust in Jesus along your journey.

Something that tends to keep us down is that we don’t believe Jesus can actually help us.

As the youth guy, I have had many of you come talk to me and honestly tell me how you feel hopeless and stuck in your journey.

We tell you that you can trust in Jesus, but let’s be totally honest: trusting is a lot easier said than done.

And some of you have tried to trust Jesus, but you still got hurt and you still have questions.

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We all experience doubt and face trust issues, and because of that, I believe it’s worth your time to ask the hard questions for yourself, because I truly believe trusting Jesus on your journey is the best way to live.

But you need to decide for yourself whether or not you are going to trust Him.

There is something that one of Jesus’ first followers, Peter, said about trusting Jesus along the journey.

If anyone knew what trust was and wasn’t, it was Peter. Remember, he was the guy who broke Jesus’ trust by denying Him.

But Peter got back up and ultimately lived an incredible life as a disciple who followed and trusted Jesus. Here is what he says.

1 Peter 4:19 ESV

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

In the message it reads

1 Peter 4:19 (Message)

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

That is a bold statement: He will never fail you.

I want you to memorize that: God will never fail you.

Notice what Peter says, though ... “not failing you” doesn’t mean you will avoid all suffering.

It means that even though you may suffer, even though there will be situations in life that will hurt, with Jesus, you will never be defeated!

That is a promise we can hold on to.

Peter continues by giving us four steps to help us practice the process of trusting in Jesus and His unfailing love.

1. Humble yourself under Jesus’ covering.

A few verses later Peter, says this.

1 Peter 5:6 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

It’s interesting that a key to getting up is to get down on your knees.

How often do you do things your own way instead of God’s way?

I know for me, I can be a bit strong-willed.

I like things done my way.

Can anyone relate?

Often the greatest things stopping me from trusting in Jesus is the fact that I trust too much in myself.

Peter got into trouble doing this.

One time in particular, Jesus called him on it big time.

In fact, Jesus called Peter “Satan”!

How would you feel if your mentor, best friend, and Lord called you the enemy?

Does that sound harsh to you?

Well, let’s look at what happened.

Matthew 16:21–23 ESV

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Jesus had an agenda, and Peter had a different one.

Let’s be clear, Peter had the best of intentions—he wanted to save Jesus.

But Jesus’ plans for saving the world were more important than Peter’s plans.

Here is the truth we can learn from Peter here: sometimes we may not know the whole story.

We need to humble ourselves and trust that Jesus’ plan may not make total sense in the moment, but His plan is the one we actually need to follow.

Think of it like this.

[Author Note: Grab an umbrella and use it as a prop for this illustration.]

We all know how umbrellas work.

In fact, the whole point of them is to get underneath their covering so that we can be protected from the storm up above.

Until you humble yourself and move underneath its covering, you will not be protected.

The same is true of Jesus.

You need to get underneath His covering, or you’re going to get rained on and life will continue beating you down.

Trust Jesus on your journey, humble yourself and trust that His plans are far better than your plans.

Peter continues by teaching us the second thing we need to do practice the process of trusting in Jesus.

2. Give Jesus your anxieties.

1 Peter 5:6–7 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

He actually cares for you.

There’s a lie we often believe that Jesus doesn’t actually care about me.

He may care about others, in fact you have heard stories of Jesus taking care of other people, but when it comes to “me,” if He really cared, He would have helped me.

Have you ever been there?

I remember when we had Evey and while we had a peace about us, very quickly we had a lot of money issues, A child living in the NICU for 54 days was not cheap, let alone a helicopter ride down there.

As the bills started to pill up, we had always heard about people get checks in the mail from their aunt they never knew they had and it was enough to cover their bills.

I was wait for it, and it never came.

I remember driving back home from Peoria because that is what i had to do every weekend.

I recall praying to God asking for some help, Brittni was not working anymore, I felt like we were in trouble.

I was thinking about all the ways that I could make money.

I was not trusting in the Lord at all, actually I was ticked he was not blessing us in that moment—even though He gave us this beautiful child that had hardly any issues and he was already blessing us some much, I wanted more and i found myself not trusting in him.

As I was speaking to Him, I could just feel him saying, Zach—just trust me.

BUT GOD— NO ZACH JUST TRSUT ME

A few weeks go by and my aunt calls and every year during march madness a local bar in my hometown does an action for the team, and every year they give that to someone in need.

They selected Brittni and I to help out, and they gave us a check for 5,000.00— while yes we did get this random check like I wanted, there was something else that stuck me, God proved he was worthy of trust

Sometimes we get so focused on our pain that we miss how God was actually at work in our lives in a greater capacity.

Peter experienced something similar when he got distracted, and in the moment, I am sure it felt like Jesus failed him.

He was on a boat in the middle of a storm, and he saw Jesus coming up strolling along, walking on the water.

The disciples were all freaking out, but Peter, in his passion (and perhaps ignorance), asked Jesus if he could walk out to Him.

Matthew 14:28 ESV

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Sometimes we gloss over this too quickly.

“Oh, Peter walked on water that’s Cool, what’s the next verse?”

Hold the phone, wait a second ... Peter is walking on water!

That doesn’t just happen!

There is so much in this story to unpack that we don’t have time for, but Jesus walking on water is a way of saying He has authority over the enemy.

By inviting Peter onto the water, Jesus is saying, “You have this authority too through me!”

However, in the next verse we see Peter sink and get wet.

Now it would be easy for Peter to complain and say, “God, you failed me!

You told me to come out to you.

Why did you let me drown?”

But read the rest of the story carefully.

Matthew 14:30–31 ESV

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Peter lost sight of Jesus, and the storms of life came crashing in.

The real key here is not Peter’s actions, it’s Jesus’ actions.

Peter cried out, “Help me,” and Jesus didn’t hesitate to save him.

Jesus allowed Peter to experience suffering, but he wasn’t defeated.

Jesus invited Peter to come out so that Peter could learn and experience how to conquer any attack of the enemy by focusing on Jesus.

Jesus didn’t fail Peter, and Jesus won’t fail you.

What the enemy tried to use for bad, Jesus was able to use for Peter’s good.

And Jesus will do the same for you.

It may feel like Jesus has failed you, but if you’re in the middle of the water drowning right now, know that your story is not yet over!

Call out to Jesus, and He will be quick to save you.

And in the end, your faith in Jesus can be strengthened.

If Jesus protected you from every potential opportunity for suffering, you would never have an opportunity for your faith to grow.

But Jesus allows us to go out onto risky waters so that we can experience the fullness of life with Him and learn how to defeat the attacks of the enemy.

And in the times when we lose sight of Jesus and begin to drown, we can be confident that He will not fail us.

This leads us to the third thing Peter teaches us about practicing the process of trusting in Jesus.

3. Be disciplined and aware.

1 Peter 5:6–8 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Step 3 is to be disciplined and watchful (or aware), and the reason for this is that there is an enemy out there who is looking to devour you!

Our defense against this prowling lion is to be alert and disciplined.

To stay disciplined, you need to be careful about which version of yourself you are feeding.

Imagine you have two dogs competing for control of the same area.

Which one wins?

The one you feed.

Every day, each of us has a choice to feed our spirit or our flesh.

The more we feed one, the weaker the other one becomes.

Acts of discipline that feed our spirit make us stronger and more resistant to the attacks of the enemy.

Peter experienced this firsthand.

Jesus was in an illegal trial the night before He was crucified, and three times Peter was questioned if he was connected to Jesus.

Three times he denied Jesus.

His fear dictated his actions, and in his lack of discipline, he betrayed his Savior.

We can learn a couple things from this.

First, we can avoid some of the pain and suffering we go through if we actually listen to God and what He has to say.

Second, we learn that discipline is not a one-time decision.

Rather, it is a process we practice today so that when the enemy comes tomorrow, we will be ready.

The best boxers in the world prep long before the boxing day so that when their enemy comes out to hit them, they will know how to win.

THEY KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO GET HIT— Because they have prepared and know how to respond to it.

With Jesus, you can have victory every time, you can place your trust in that. Be disciplined and be aware.

This brings us to the last thing Peter tells us that helps us place our trust in Jesus.

4. Resist the enemy.

1 Peter 5:6–9 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

This last point is all about mindset.

Peter recognizes that the mental game is a key to your ability in not just getting up, but staying up.

Have you ever been around someone who has defeated him or herself before the challenge even started?

I know that many here, my hate hearing me talk about the greatest QB ever to play the game Mr. Tom Brady— but Brady brought a winning mindset to the Buccaneers this year.

You can ask anyone who played last year and compare it to this year.

It came done to one thing.

The mindset.

The Running back Ronald Jones- said that Tom brought a winning championship mindset.

They were 7-9 they finished 3rd in the division- they were the most losing team in the all the major sports.

And Tom Brady brings the mindset of winning!

They were losers and they had complained a lot at first, because Tom was trying to show them the way— not too many of them are compelling now.

When we start comparing our lives to others, we set ourselves up to lose because we rob ourselves of the joy that God has given us to survive.

We must be resolved in our mind to see Jesus in the midst of our difficult situations.

When Peter was defeated, he went back to his lifestyle before he met Jesus—a fisherman.

Peter didn’t just lose his discipline; he lost his motivation to resist the enemy.

Later, Jesus appeared to him and called him to the side of the beach, and three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?”—once for each time Peter denied Jesus.

And in that conversation, Jesus re-inspired Peter.

As they sat eating breakfast Jesus forgave Peter and told him ...

John 21:17 ESV

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Instead of giving into the lies of the enemy, Jesus reminded Peter of a greater purpose he had to live.

In brain studies, science is actually showing us how important your mindset really is.

The Bible teaches a whole lot about how to guard your mind and to think on things “above.”

These are not just nice ideas, but they are scientifically proven to affect the way we live.

There was a college in New York that conducted a study on mindset a few years back.

They got a whole bunch of basketball players and had them shoot free throws.

Then, over the following 30 days, they had one-third of the group practice free throws for an hour, one-third of the group imagine making free throws for an hour, and the last one-third did noting (they were the control group).

When they retested 30 days later, the control group who did not practice performed the same (as expected).

Those who physically practiced free throws improved by 24 percent.

The unique thing was, the group that imagined making free throws, they also improved.

They improved by 23 percent.

The way you view something, your mindset is key.

And when it comes to resisting the enemy, your thoughts matter.

You can resist the enemy and live a life that not only pleases God, where you will never be defeated.

Hold onto your hope!

Humble yourself, give Jesus your anxieties, be disciplined and aware, and resist the enemy.

These are the steps Peter outlines that will help you get back up and be victorious when life has tried to beat you down.

Here is the final promise we are given in this passage.

1 Peter 5:10 ESV

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

At some point, the suffering will pass and God will give you what no one else can: a hope and a future.

Jesus will never fail you.

Let that be your life’s motto.

Trust Jesus along your Journey.

Come back to the Umbrella

Peter tells us to “cast our anxieties on Jesus because he cares for us.” This is way easier said than done. How are we supposed to actually do this?

If someone were to ask you, “How do you know that Jesus is trustworthy?” how would you respond to them?

We see Peter walk on water, only to start sinking and almost drown. Jesus says Peter fell because Peter stopped focusing on Jesus and got distracted. List a handful of ways the enemy has tried to distract and knock you and your friends down.

Of all the ways the enemy attacks us that we just listed, which method of attack has been most effective at keeping you down?

What is one way you can resist the attack of the enemy against you this week?