Ask just about any Christian if he or she trusts God to take them to heaven to live with Him forever, and you’ll get an immediate and resounding yes. So why do those same Christians – myself included – struggle to trust Him with all the stuff in between here and now and there and then?

Paying bills, making life decisions, navigating relationships, avoiding temptation – you name it, we worry about it. We fret about stuff we have no control over. We lose sleep trying to make sure we’ve thought of every contingency. We exhaust ourselves working to get just one more thing done or to make a few dollars more.

And then we say we trust God with the fate of our souls. Hmmm…..

Falling Short

I confess to stumbling around quite a bit over the past summer in this area. In January, I stepped away from the company I had helped a friend begin and stepped out on my own.

I had done it before, of course, as I wrote about in my latest book A Story Worth Telling. Last time, we went a year with no income. I was hoping for a different outcome this time.

And it has been a different story this time as I focus ever more intently on fulfilling my calling to write and communicate as a Kingdom catalyst. But I had some sleepless nights, let me tell you.

I would wake up and immediately start thinking of all I “had” to do so I could get it done. And the more I tried doing it, the less progress I seemed to make.

Now if you had asked me if I trusted God with my eternal destiny, I’d have said, Of course. But trusting Him to provide direction each day and food to eat for the family – not so much.

The Great Disconnect

Maybe you’ve experienced it, as well, this disconnect between where we will be someday and the reality of where we are now. It’s the stuff in between here and now and there and then that gives us pause.

But here is something I am learning, though I am very much in process, believe me: Reality is defined by God’s statement of what is, not my perception of what should be.

Which brings me to Secret #5 in this series of 7 Secrets to Know about God’s Will: If you trust God for eternity, depend on Him today.

Be consistent. If you believe He’s got your soul, surrender your daily agenda. Too often we say, I know who holds my tomorrow, but today? Not so much.

We forget that God has already been to our today. He’s already in our tomorrow. He guided us through yesterday. From our perspective, today is uncertain. But from God’s perspective, today is just the next step toward eternity.

It is always a privilege to hear from people all over the world who are struggling to figure out what God wants them to do next. It’s not always easy to sort through life’s clutter to get clarity and live with the confidence of knowing you and God are on the same page.

A lot of my readers (I love all of you!) are hurting, struggling with uncertainty, wrestling with the pain of watching others make mistakes and feeling helpless to stop them.

The way forward in all of these circumstances begins with aligning our confidence in God about eternity with our confidence in God about today. Eternity starts now. There is wisdom in that song lyric that says, I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand (as in, right now!).

We will not cease to exist between now and then. One moment will lead to the next until we arrive at our eternal destination.

That’s why the Apostle Paul calls it a faith walk. One foot in front of the other. Trusting our Savior to guide each step we take right here and now just as we trust Him to prepare a place for us there and then.

The God of the Bible, the transcendent, self-existent One, the One who was and is and is to come, is Lord of this moment as much as He is Lord of all eternity.

Know it to be true. Live it out today. And see if that faith doesn’t nudge you a little closer to a peace that passes all understanding.

Meditate on this statement of reality:

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore. (Ps. 121)

Question: Do you ever struggle trusting God with today like you trust Him with your tomorrow? Why do you think it is so difficult to connect the two? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

Next: The Sixth Secret You Need to Know about God’s Will