"The God Who Requires Trust"

Yesterday I was able to go to church for the first time in awhile. Sickness, surgery and other things have gotten in the way.
Once the service started I was reminded how much I need church in my life. It makes me stop and focus on what is important. I can take much needed time out of my schedule and sit in God's presence.
The sermon yesterday really spoke to me. The title was "The God Who Requires Trust". The part that really got to me was the idea that "old faith is never going to be enough for new challenges."
The idea was that as things come up in our life, we need to grow in our relationship with God in order to handle what comes along. The pastor spoke of the Children of Israel in the dessert. In chapters 14-17 of Exodus, things kept coming up that tested them. The lack of water and food tested their faith. They whined, and complained. They allowed outside circumstances affect their relationship with God. They whined because what mattered to God didn't matter to them. While it is easy to sit back and judge them, I know I do the same thing. I allow the circumstances in my life to affect my relationship with God. I question, complain, worry and fight.
The service ended with the song "Blessings" by Laura Story. The lyrics were so beautiful I wanted to share:

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Courtesy of lyricshall.com
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

As we get ready to end 2011 I look back and am amazed by God's mercy and blessings. It has been a really tough year, I have cried, complained, wondered "why me", yet the whole time God has shown His faithfulness. He has more than proven that He can be trusted. I have a renewed fervor to increase my faith.