Weekly Devotion: How To Trust God When The Outcome Doesn't Look Good

By: Jessika Sanders

How do we trust God when the outcome doesn't look good?

In this week’s reading of Isaiah 4-8 we learn that Judah is under judgment and bracing for a physical attack by its enemies. But God has commissioned a prophet, Isaiah, to deliver a word to His people, the very ones that are stubborn, hard-hearted, and find themselves facing impending doom.

Though you may not be facing a military invasion, the word God delivers to Isaiah to share with His people is one that can encourage us today and one that answers the question of how we can trust God when the outcome doesn’t look good.

Isaiah 8:12-14 says, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe.”

If we’re honest, it’s easy to let our minds wander and allow them to settle on fear and panic, isn’t it?

If you’re experiencing a high risk pregnancy, 

you might be getting stuck on a what if loop.

If you’re navigating pregnancy after loss, 

you might be struggling to feel joy when you’ve known loss.

If you’re wading through a season of infertility, 

you might be wrestling with the uncertainty of if you’ll ever conceive.

If you’re journeying through child illness or hospitalization, 

you might be white-knuckling the highs and lows of the roller coaster.

And if you’re enduring the grief of child loss, 

you might be doubting the excruciating pain will ever relent.

While these fears and these thoughts are valid, verse 13 of our passage instructs us to fear the Lord and make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in our lives.

You might be wondering how to do that. How do we trust in God when the outcome doesn’t look good?

I believe the answer is two-part. It’s a how and a why.

The how is we must take our thoughts captive. The Passion Translation of 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.” 

That means each worry, each doubt, each intrusive and fear-inducing thought needs to be caught and held up to God’s character, His Word, and His Truth.

So instead of what if, how about even if?

Instead of joy or grief, how about the coexistence of the two?

Instead of wrestling with the uncertainty, how about surrendering to it?

Instead of white-knuckling the highs and lows, how about loosening your grip?

Instead of doubting the pain will ever relent, how about trusting it will?

And the why behind the how? Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” 

When we fix our thoughts on God (Isaiah 26:3), 

When we pray instead of worry (Philippians 4:6-7), 

When we take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), 

When we think on what is good, and right, and true (Philippians 4:8), 

His peace will guard our hearts and minds.

God's peace and the sanctuary and safety He provides, can help us to trust Him even when the outcome doesn’t look good. Because despite how it might feel, we are not at the mercy of our circumstances. We are at the mercy of a merciful God and held firmly in His hands.

God, I thank you that you never leave or forsake me, that your plans for me aren’t to harm me but to prosper me. I thank you that you are peace and even just the mention of your name can calm the storms of this life. Lord, help me to navigate my circumstances with your peace that surpasses all understanding. Help me to fix my thoughts on you, taking captive every thought that doesn’t line up with the life-giving promises of your Word. As my Good Shepherd, take my hand and walk with me through this valley. Be my rock and my safe place. In your holy name, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, I pray. Amen.

Dig Deeper into How to Navigate What is Ahead with Real Hope

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you typically struggle with intrusive thoughts or with negative thought patterns that are fear and anxiety inducing? Or are your current struggles specific to this season?

Put Your Faith Into Action:

It’s easy to fix our thoughts on our current circumstances instead of on the Lord. But fixing our minds only on what we can see can cause them to not only spiral but to settle on fear and worry. 

This week I challenge you to identify negative thought patterns and take them captive by reframing them to reflect the hope of the gospel.

Ex:

Negative thought: 

What if my son never recovers from this?

Thought captive to Christ: 

Even if my son doesn’t recover from this in his lifetime, God’s Word says in Heaven he will be healed for all of eternity!

Further Reading:

• Philippians 4:2-9

Verse to meditate on and memorize:

Isaiah 8:12-14 NLT: “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe.”

Jessika Sanders is a published writer who has been featured in Proverbs 31 Ministries’ Hope When Your Heart is Heavy devotional (2021), Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr. magazine (2023), and Tyndale’s So God Made a Mother (2023). She is also the co-author of The Good Book Company's, In His Hands: Prayers for Your Child or Baby in a Medical Crisis ( July 2024). Jessika is the Founder and Executive Director of Praying Through ministries.