Letting Go Of the Outcome and Trusting God With the Unknown
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
-Isaiah 26:3–4
I’ve known the Lord for nearly 30 years, and as a teen, my nickname was “Faith” because I was so trusting of God and His ways. I hadn’t lived much life yet and maybe that’s why God calls us to have faith like a child.
A child trusts more because they haven’t seen much. It’s living and experiencing the world that shakes our faith in God, even though it’s people who let us down.
The Tension We Live In
We want answers. We desire certainty. We crave control. We think these things bring us security, but they don’t. In some ways, I think it only brings on more tension. When we live in a place of tension from uncertainty and control, no matter how much we get, it’s never enough. There will always be something to worry over or want to control.
When we live in this tension, we tend to live and act in fear. We’re afraid of a certain outcome, so we make decisions based on that fear—even when nothing has happened.
Peace doesn’t come from knowing the outcome. It comes from knowing the Prince of Peace. If our peace is connected to knowing the outcome, it will constantly fluctuate as different challenges and circumstances arise, and we are once again thrown into a place of uncertainty.
When we strive to manage results or attempt to, this robs us of learning how to trust God and live in the present. We’ll always be looking ahead to when things will get better.
Yes, we can faithfully plan, but we shouldn’t hold so tightly to the outcome—something out of our control—that we lose our peace in the process. The illusion of control may feel safe at the time, but it’s still an illusion. Once it all falls apart, so will you.
Trust Without the Blueprint
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
-Proverbs 3:5
It’s remarkable how often we tend to rely on our own understanding of things. Our human nature is to think in human terms. But when we walk in the Spirit, we see through completely different eyes.
When we love God with all our heart, trusting Him with all our heart tends to follow a bit more easily. Loving God is obeying Him, even if we don’t have clarity or certainty. He doesn’t often reveal an entire path to us, only the next step.
Obedience out of love and trust comes much easier than obedience out of duty or legalism. Obedience isn’t about working our way to heaven. It’s about trusting in our Father, as His children, to do what’s best for us. Best doesn’t always mean easy.
What God Asks Us to Release
There are some things we hold onto that only cause anxiety within us that we don’t need to carry. Holding them tightly in our minds doesn’t mean we have control of them.
What are things God might be asking you to release?
- How someone responds
- When prayers are answered
- How a season ends
Letting go doesn’t mean you’re giving up. It simply means you’re transferring your trust to the One who can handle the outcome. When we truly do this, we receive peace. Our bodies and minds relax. There are still times we’ll be tempted to take it back because maybe we aren’t on board with His timeline, but just remember, the illusion of control doesn’t change anything, and it only robs you of your peace and joy.
We also don’t want to put a person or situation in such a high place in our lives it becomes an idol. When we are so focused on it that it drowns God out, we’ve made this person or circumstance bigger than God in our minds and lives.
Who God Is in the Unknown
Just because we don’t know the outcome yet doesn’t mean God isn’t already present in the future. He is not bound by time the way we are. He asks us to trust Him because He already knows and it’s not for us to worry or manage.
Our faith increases as we are faithful even when things are unseen. How can our faith grow if we have all the answers? God is working even while He is silent. This is the space where our trust and faith grow.
Don’t anchor your trust in the circumstances, but in the character of God.
Your Invitation To A Daily Surrender
One of the best ways to let go of the outcome and trust God with the unknown is to pray about it each day. Release it each day or as often as it tries to take over your mind, emotions, and peace.
Name the person or circumstance specifically and let God know you want to trust Him with the outcome. There is no limit to how often you can do this. As often as it takes.
Prayer
Father God,
I pray you give me the courage to trust you with the things I cannot see or control. Please give me the grace to let go and help me live in peace while I wait for your perfect will and timing. In Jesus’ name. Amen
In His Word
“Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong.
For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.
Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and he will act,
making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.
Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans.” -Psalm 37:1-7
We Recommend
How do we trust God when we are attacked, grieved, or discouraged? Journey through 30 Psalms in this study on Trust that reminds us to look to God and rest in times of hardship and uncertainty.
Let’s Connect
You can find Christin sharing daily reflections to stir your soul here, as well as practical discipleship on her blog. You can also follow her on Instagram.