Trusting GOD in the 9th Hour

By: Janiece Renee

It’s easy to say, “I trust God” when you’ve got plenty of time, space, and opportunity. It’s easy to say that you trust Him when you’ve got more money than a month and when you’re not living from paycheck to paycheck. It’s even easy to say that you trust Him when things have fallen into place in most of the various areas of your life.

But what happens when you’ve been saying that you trust God and it seems like nothing is changing for you? What do you do when you’ve done your best to trust God but the deadline has come? What do you do when you get a letter of threat in the mail saying that you have until such and such a date to pay the bill before they kick you out, disconnect you, or terminate your agreement?

Well, if you’ve ever found yourself in that situation, fret not, because you are NOT alone!

As a full-time student, I have found, on many occasions, that I was without resources and simultaneously down to the wire. I’ve gotten letters in the mail threatening my housing before. I’ve even had to move out of my residence before because my hours at work had been cut and I could no longer afford to live there. And while that’s just problematic in and of itself…my biggest issue with that? I’m a CHRISTIAN! And not just a Christian who simply believes in Jesus…I do my best to live for Him! Isn’t God supposed to come through for me? What happened to God is a good, good Father? 

These are just a few examples of competing thoughts that sought to rule my heart and my mind in frantic times like these. It’s so easy to get frustrated. And, in fact, it is okay for us to be frustrated with the reality of our circumstances. That is only human.

But the truth is, frustration cannot change our situation. And, neither can giving up. When we choose to embody our frustration and give up on God’s ability and willingness to help us, we do not create space for the impossible to take place. It’s funny…I remember my home pastor once saying, “worry is like a rocking chair; you’ll get some motion but you’re not going anywhere.” And I didn’t internalize what he said back then, but today those words are more real to me than ever.

For me, faith meant asking for help in spite of my pride and fear of rejection. And although I did experience a few rejections…I still had to have faith enough to keep asking.

Faith can do far more for you than fear can. And faith is not simply a passive belief that something can happen. Faith is belief with legs. Faith might mean that you apply for that new job because you believe you could get it. Faith might mean that you tell somebody with resources about your need because you believe they could help you. Faith might mean that you write out that business plan, apply for that school, sign up for that seminar, start that ministry, or whatever…all because you believe that God not only CAN come through, but you honestly believe that God WILL come through.

I guess I’ll leave you with this…recently, I created a shirt that says, “God Came Through.” It’s a statement of faith because my entire story has been a string of God Came Through moments. But the problem was that I had gotten so used to God coming through that I forgot that God is bigger than the ways that He came through in the past. How God came through in the past has nothing on how God can come through for you today, tomorrow, and for all time.

Trust me sis, God has not exhausted His ability to come through for you. Even if it IS the ninth hour!