Psalm 41:12, “In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.” (NIV)

I couldn’t believe Jesus would ask me not go to college. Everyone goes to college! When I saw the ad that read, “If you want to be the servant of all come and serve with us”,  I just knew it was God. He had been whispering to me all week and I was terrified.

An article titled “What it truly means to serve God” was His first nudging days ago. I knew I wanted to serve God. That’s why I had registered at a Christian college for a degree in counseling.

This ministry’s definition of serving (doing for others when no one knew about it) was radical. Shaken, I was forced to seriously look at the reasons I had for pursuing ministry.

The second prompting came during a sermon just one night later. “If you really want to be used of God, you have to first become a servant of God.”

Oh no! Hearing it a second time made my ears really perk up. He must be serious about this servant thing!

When I saw the invitation in the magazine to come to their ministry and learn to really serve, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, “This is what I want you to do.” Even though I was scared, in a way I was also peaceful. I knew I had to obey.

Was it easy? No!

I had already registered for college and paid my deposit. Yet I knew I needed to trust God with this new direction, even if many people thought it was weird and I felt scared.

That decision to trust God was the first of many. I learned God had my best interest in mind. My relationship with Him grew in a way that might not have been possible in a traditional college setting; there I fell in love with Jesus. I’ve never regretted my decision to trust.

Many times when I step out of what is comfortable and choose to obey, I go back and revisit His faithfulness to me.

Jesus and I began building a history together then and we’ve been building it ever since. This history of trust is what compels me to believe in His goodness time and time again.

Seeing His faithfulness gives me the strength to do the right thing when a hard choice comes around; I can trust Him.

In today’s verse, David says, “In my integrity, you uphold me…” Integrity means soundness of moral character. When we make the hard choices to trust and obey Jesus, we are building our integrity; integrity that will eventually bring God’s blessings.

God promises to uphold us when we choose to walk with moral character; that’s the type of support I can build my entire life upon.

Jesus, I know that you won’t always ask me to do the easy thing, but I want to learn to trust you knowing it will always be the right thing. I know you will always be with me. Grow my faith. Amen.

Go Deeper

Ponder: Isaiah 41:10 “So do no fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold You with my righteous right hand.” NIV

Apply: Chances are in the next 24 hours, you’ll have something you’ll need to trust Jesus with. A fight with your parents, a test in school or a decision that goes against the crowd. Prepare yourself now by telling Jesus you will choose to trust and ask Him for the strength to see this opportunity when it comes.

Share: Have you already bumped up to something that has challenged you to trust that Jesus has your best in mind? What was that situation and how did you handle it?

Lynn Cowell is an author and speaker with Proverbs 31 Ministries. Her book “His Revolutionary Love” empowers girls to make wise decisions and to trust Jesus to lead them to a blessed life. She loves the mountains, well-worn sweatshirts and anything that combines chocolate and peanut butter! For more from Lynn, visit her blog at www.LynnCowell.com.

Image Credit: Ulis Fleming

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