Trusting the One Who Knows, Cleanses, and Calls

Trusting the One Who Knows, Cleanses, and Calls

When we look at Matthew 4:19, Ecclesiastes 3:1–11, Isaiah 43:25, and Matthew 6:8, we find a beautiful blueprint for life:

God already knows what we need.

He forgives our past.

He perfectly understands our seasons.

And He calls us into a greater purpose.

Sometimes, however, trusting God means trusting Him when our plans don't go the way we expected.

Matthew 4:19

“Come, follow me, and I’ll show you how to fish for people!” — Matthew 4:19 NLT

Jesus didn't give Peter and Andrew a five-year plan. He simply said, “Come, follow Me.”

There is something powerful about those two little words: follow Me.

Not figure everything out first.

Not make sure you understand where you're going.

Not get your life perfectly together.

Just follow Me.

God Knows What We Need

Matthew 6:8 tells us:

“Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” — Matthew 6:8 NLT

The Greek word used for “knows” is related to ginōskō, which means to know, understand, recognize, or perceive. God doesn't have a vague idea about what is happening in our lives. He knows us intimately.

He knows what we need before we even have the words to explain it.

That is comforting because sometimes we don't even know what we need!

Yesterday, Ross and I experienced one of those moments.

We got up early, got ourselves ready, and drove about 39 minutes to the hospital for his test. Ross had already endured the wonderful experience of drinking a gallon of some very yucky stuff in preparation.

Only when we arrived did we discover that we had the wrong directions.

The procedure couldn't be done, so we had to turn around and come home.

Poor Ross. He felt terrible. He had gotten up early, gone through all that unpleasant preparation, made the drive, and then found out it was all for nothing.

Or at least that's what it looked like to us.

But before we got home, we found something we could do.

We stopped and picked up two, 50-pound bags of cat litter!

Now, that might not sound like a blessing to everybody, but when you live in a small town like we do, getting something like that can be a real chore. So instead of coming home completely frustrated, we were able to take care of something we couldn't easily do at home.

Was that the reason the procedure was rescheduled?

I don't know.

But I do know this:

God was still with us on that road.

A changed plan doesn't mean God has changed His mind about us.

He Cleanses Our Past

Isaiah 43:25 says:

“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.” — Isaiah 43:25 NLT

The Hebrew idea behind “blot out” is māḥâ, meaning to wipe away, erase, or remove.

Think about that for a minute.

God doesn't simply put our sins in a drawer and promise not to talk about them for a while.

He says He will blot them out.

The Hebrew word ḥāṭā’ is often translated as “sin,” carrying the idea of missing the mark. And haven't we all missed the mark?

We've said things we wish we hadn't said.

We've made decisions we wish we could undo.

We've trusted the wrong people.

We've gone in directions God never intended for us.

But our mistakes don't have to become our identity.

When we confess our sins and turn back toward God, He offers forgiveness.

The enemy would love to keep us chained to yesterday, constantly reminding us of what we did wrong.

But God says, “I have blotted it out.”

If God has forgiven what we have confessed, we need to stop carrying what He has already removed.

Your past may explain part of your story, but it doesn't have to determine your future.

He Rules Over Our Seasons

Ecclesiastes 3:1–11 reminds us:

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

“A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.”

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4, 11 NLT

The Hebrew word zĕmān refers to an appointed or designated time, while ʿēt can refer to a particular time or season.

God understands the difference between a season and a lifetime.

Sometimes we think the season we're in will last forever.

When we're hurting, we want the pain to end immediately.

When we're waiting, we want an answer today.

When something good happens, we want to hold onto it forever.

But life moves through seasons.

There is a time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to weep and a time to laugh.

A time to hold on and a time to let go.

And sometimes there is even a time to drive 39 minutes to the hospital, drink a gallon of yucky stuff, discover you had the wrong directions, and drive 39 minutes back home!

God sees the entire picture when we can only see the moment we're standing in.

eautiful in its time.

Notice that it doesn't say everything is beautiful right now.

A seed buried beneath the dirt doesn't look beautiful.

A branch after pruning can look bare and ruined.

A season of waiting doesn't always feel productive.

But God sees what we cannot see.

So if you're in a season of waiting, grieving, changing, rebuilding, or simply wondering, don't assume God has forgotten you.

He may simply be working in a part of the story you cannot see yet.

He Calls Us to Purpose

Then we come back to Matthew 4:19.

Jesus looked at ordinary fishermen and said:

> “Come, follow me, and I’ll show you how to fish for people!”

Peter and Andrew weren't sitting around waiting to become important.

They were working.

They were fishing.

They were living ordinary lives.

And Jesus stepped into their ordinary lives and gave them a greater purpose.

The Greek word akoloutheō, translated “follow,” means to follow after, accompany, or go along with someone.

That's what Jesus asks of us.

Follow Me.

He takes ordinary people with ordinary lives and gives them opportunities to do extraordinary things for His Kingdom.

He can take our experiences—even the painful ones—and use them to help someone else.

He can take our mistakes and turn them into wisdom.

He can take our seasons of suffering and use them to develop compassion.

He can take the things we thought disqualified us and use them as part of our testimony.

And He doesn't ask us to know everything before we follow Him.

He asks us to trust Him enough to take the next step.

Bringing It All Together

So today, let's remember these four truths:

You don't need to stress over the future, because God already knows what you need.

You don't need to live in shame over your past, because God is able to blot out what you have confessed and forgiven.

You don't need to rush the process, because God understands every season and makes things beautiful in His time.

And you don't need to have everything figured out before you follow Jesus, because He is the One who leads you.

Yesterday didn't go according to our plan.

Ross drank that gallon of yucky stuff.

We drove 39 minutes to the hospital.

We discovered the directions were wrong.

We drove 39 minutes back home.

And yes, we came home with 50-pound bags of cat litter!

But maybe that's a little picture of life.

Sometimes we start the day thinking we know exactly where we're going.

Then something changes.

The door closes.

The appointment gets rescheduled.

The plan falls apart.

And we wonder, “Now what, Lord?”

Maybe the answer is simply:

Keep following Me.

God knows what we need.

God has forgiven what we have confessed.

God knows what season we're in.

And God still has a purpose for our lives.

So whatever today brings, let's lay down our heavy nets, stop trying to control every detail, and look toward the One who already knows the way.

We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow.

And that's enough.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for being the God who knows exactly what we need, even before we ask.

Thank You for forgiving our sins and wiping away the things we wish we could change. Help us to stop dragging our past behind us when You have already offered us forgiveness.

Lord, help us trust Your timing. When our plans change, help us remember that You haven't changed. When doors close, help us wait for the door You want us to walk through. When we don't understand our circumstances, give us the faith to keep following You anyway.

Thank You for walking with Ross and me through the unexpected moments of life—even the hospital trips that don't go according to plan and the unexpected two, 50-pound bags of cat litter!

Use every season of our lives for Your purposes. Take our ordinary lives, our experiences, our mistakes, our joys, and even our struggles, and use them to point someone else toward You.

Give us courage to follow You wherever You lead.

We don't need to understand everything.

We just need to trust the One who does.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

And the power,

And the glory,

Forever and ever.

Amen.

BELIEVE, OBEY, BE BLESSED AMEN BOBBA ❤️

Love, Penny 💛 

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