Recovering from Burnout Series: Strategy 8- "Don't Be Chip Girl" or "Trust an Unknown Future to a Known God"

I remember talking to my sister on Facetime years ago, when I was going through a heartbreak. Her two year old was in the background, and she took the opportunity while her mom was distracted on the phone to grab a huge bag of potato chips out of the pantry. Her mom saw her and told her “No.” The toddler stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room where her mom was sitting and bawled her eyes out because she couldn’t have what she wanted. Right then I felt the Holy Spirit say to me,

“You are “chip girl”. You want what you want right now, and I know better. I know what you want is not good for you, and I have something better for you, but all you can think about is how you are being deprived of what you think you need to be happy.”

I was! I was “chip girl”. Just like my niece, I thought I knew what I needed, and I wanted it right then! My Father was saying a firm “No”, and I absolutely did not like it!

Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch woman who, along with her family, hid Jews during the Holocaust, which resulted in their imprisonment, said,

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God”.

Isaiah 46:9-10: states,

"Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and

there is none like me".

God is who He is. There are no other gods besides Him. He reveals through creation, Scripture, and His Spirit other attributes of who He is that make entrusting our unknown futures to Him the only logical thing to do. He makes Himself known as a faithful, loving, and mighty God among many other attributes which all add up this fact: He is trustworthy.

I have come to realize that the burnout I am recovering from is partly due to me relying on myself and what I have thought is best for me in my life, rather than entrusting my present days and my future to this God who promises to lead me and who tells me goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

Daily I’m learning to give God the burdens of my day and the fears of my tomorrows. I do this through prayer, worship, declaring what I know to be true over my life, and through being with others who remind me of the fact that we serve a faithful God who directs our steps.

Proverbs 19:21 says,

“Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.”

Our unknown futures and our plans (I have many) are subject to the purposes of the God of the universe as we submit ourselves to Him in trusting reverence. May we each learn more every day how to trust our unknown futures to our known God.

Notes in the Margins

What are some characteristics of God that make it easier for you to entrust your future to Him?

When is trusting God difficult for you?

In what ways might trusting God more entirely with your life help you recover from burnout?