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Trusting, I’m trusting,
expecting to see
God’s great deliverance –
His mercies for me.
I trust in the Lord, I expect He will give
all that I need, each day that I live.
He supplies all I need, as I walk in His ways.
As I follow my Savior, my heart gives Him praise.
My heart gives Him praise, and my life it does, too
as I show to the world that my heart is made new.
No more am I captive, tormented by sin
for God gave His great grace, my battles to win.
God fights my fierce battles, the big and the small.
As I trust in His power, I see giants fall.
Trusting, I’m trusting,
expecting to see
God’s great deliverance —
His mercies for me.
Problems, the stuff of life. A deep, and reassuring, truth from Joyce Meyer: you are either in a problem, coming out of one or going into one. She was being realistic, not negative, acknowledging what Jesus told us:
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] (John 16:33, AMPC, emphasis added).
Though He taught us that we will have problems while on earth, Jesus also said to be as carefree as the birds because, beautiful as they are, we are worth far more than sparrows to God (Matthew 6:25-33). He told us to seek God’s kingdom first and the things of this world that we need will be provided for us. That is the gist of the little poem above. Let’s reflect on the Biblical truths from which these words sprang.
Chorus
‘Trusting, I’m trusting,
expecting to see
God’s great deliverance –
His mercies for me.
Since God unfolded for me the truths in Lamentations 3: 21-26, they have given great comfort. If we look with spiritual eyes, we will see, every day, how God is pouring out His loving kindness and mercy on each of us. For me, that is the most encouraging thought in this passage of Scripture – that when I bring to mind God’s past faithfulness to me, it gives me hope and confident expectation. Then, I can trust Him and wait.
21 But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation:
22 It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.
25 The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God’s word].
26 It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:21-16, AMPC, emphasis added).
Notice that verse 21 starts with “but”. In previous verses, Jeremiah (the author of Lamentations) was pleading with the Lord to earnestly consider his afflictions. Then, Jeremiah says “But this I recall and therefore I have hope and expectation.” This is one key to abiding in God’s peace – to keep bringing to mind the things God has done for you, for others, and for people in the Bible.
Another key is that we must say “The Lord is my portion”, He is the one I am looking to. This verse refers to the fact that in Old Testament times, the priests received their living from gifts and sacrifices brought to the temple. They had no land or flocks of their own. God truly was their source, their “portion.” It only takes a moment of reflection to remember that God is the source of everything we have.
When we remember God’s goodnesses and declare our dependence on Him, we can hope in Him and wait, with confident expectation, for Him. Why? Because He is good to those who do so. Lamentations 3: 25 in the AMPC tells us the way to wait for Him is by seeking Him. Seeking Him means to ask for information from Him, to seek God Himself and to claim Him by bringing our need and the portion of His Word that addresses that need before His great throne of mercy (Hebrews 4:16).
With any need in my life, I can review this precious, precious passage of God’s Word with Him, do what it says and then wait, with quiet confidence and expectation, for His deliverances and mercies, great and small.
Stanza One
I trust in the Lord, I expect He will give
all that I need, each day that I live.
He supplies all I need, as I walk in His ways.
As I follow my Savior, my heart gives Him praise.
Psalm 34:10 says “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” (NIV). Only God is qualified to speak or make promises in absolute terms like Psalm 34:10 but when He does, He means it. How blessed we are to have an entire large book filled with examples of how He keeps His promises! No wonder He urges us repeatedly to keep His Word in our mind night and day.
Another verse that speaks to our needs is Philippians 4:19. “ And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” It is essential to consider the context of this verse before we present it to God for our needs. Paul was writing to the believers at Philippi who had given him financial aid, “more than once”. So, if we are not giving of our finances to further God’s kingdom, we have no right to claim the promise in this verse. How sad that so many believers miss the blessing of tithing. Oh, how I pray that more will trust God with the money He has so generously given them!
Stanza Two:
My heart gives Him praise, and my life it does too
as I show to the world that my heart is made new.
No more am I captive, tormented by sin
for God gave His great grace, my battles to win.
God fights my fierce battles, the big and the small.
As I trust in His power, I see giants fall.
John the Baptist said “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (John 3:8, NLT). I like the AMPC translation: “Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart.” When we live a godly life, we show to the world the power of God. When nonbelievers see the blessings God pours on the godly — blessings like peace and joy in storms, physical healings, material abundance and favor — they are drawn to God.
When believers “trust God and do good” (Psalm 34:11-14, NIV), their “moral excellence and praiseworthy, noble and good deeds” lead the lost to “recognize and honor the Lord.” (Matthew 6:13, AMPC). When sin’s power is broken (Romans 6:1-14), the world sees people freed from the torments of addiction and dysfunctional living and living an abundant, joyous life. This draws them to God as surely as water draws a thirsty soul.
Stop and think of the many testimonies you have heard of former addicts, gang members, and criminals who have been miraculously set free from the bondage of sin and now live for the glory of God. Each of us can be a similar testimony of God’s grace to the people who know us. Our story may not be as dramatic, but our victories as we follow God speak. Our individual stories are light in the darkness of this world, even in our own neighborhoods.
Furthermore, simply our obedient way of life bears evidence of the power of God and His love. In Philippians 2:14-15 Paul urges us “4 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.” (NLT)
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It is God who fights for me! I believe one reason God includes so many battle stories and stories of conflict in His Word is because it shows us what to do when we face problems. Also, these stories put courage into our frail hearts.
From the way God divided the Red Sea to deliver Israel and that same Red Sea to drown their enemies (Exodus 14) to the way He guided the stone in David’s sling (1 Samuel 17), from the way the trumpets, jars, and torches of Gideon’s 300 brave men threw the Midianites and Amalekites into confusion (Judges 7), to the way praise commanded by King Jehosophat caused three armies to turn on and kill each other (2 Chronicles 20:1-30), it is God Who fights for His children. We only have to walk in obedience to God and obey His Word.
Just as God gave different instructions to Biblical leaders and warriors who won victories and God used different methods, even so we can trust that:
- God knows our situation (Isaiah 46:9-10),
- He will guide us if we humble ourselves before Him (Psalm 25:9), and
- He does have victory stored up for us (Proverbs 2:7).
And we must be careful to give Him all the glory for our victories. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NJKV)
The battles, truly, are His. “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:31, NLT)
THEREFORE, we can trust and expect. Because of all these truths we have reviewed, be encouraged and know that we can, daily, trust in God and expect to see His great deliverances for us. Let us ponder these great truths and let God’s Word make our minds new. Let the Word of God do the work He longs to do in our hearts. Then, every day, in every way we can sing . . .
Trusting, I’m trusting,
expecting to see
God’s great deliverance –
His mercies for me
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Consider the lilies! Ponder Matthew 6:28-30 and Luke 12:27-28.