Sermon Date: 01/25/2026

Bible Verses:

• Various

Speaker: Rev. Timothy "Tim" Shapley

Theme: https://uppbeat.io/t/northwestern/a-new

Introduction: We Want Control, God Wants Trust

We live in an age of planning, predicting, and protecting ourselves.

We track. We insure. We analyze. We worry.

And when life still goes sideways, we ask the same question in different forms: “Why didn’t this work?” “What did I miss?” “How do I fix this?”

Scripture doesn’t shame those questions—but it does redirect them.

God does not promise us full explanations. He promises His faithfulness.

And the call of Scripture is not: figure everything out— It is: trust Me.

Point One: Trust the Lord — Not Yourself

Proverbs 3:5–6

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

This passage does not say understanding is bad. It says understanding is limited.

The problem isn’t that we think—it’s that we lean.

To lean is to put your weight on something. To depend on it to hold you up.

And Scripture is blunt: Your understanding cannot carry the weight of your life.

God does not ask for partial trust. Not 80%. Not trust-until-it-hurts. Not trust-until-it-costs.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart.”

That includes:

• The unanswered prayer
• The confusing diagnosis
• The broken relationship
• The closed door you were sure God would open

And notice the promise:

“He will make straight your paths.”

Not easy paths. Not pain-free paths. But directed paths.

Trust does not eliminate uncertainty. It anchors you inside it.

✦ Faith is not knowing where God is taking you—it’s knowing who is taking you.

Point Two: Perfect Peace Comes From a Fixed Mind

Isaiah 26:3

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Perfect peace does not come from perfect circumstances.

It comes from a focused mind.

The Hebrew phrase here is literally “peace, peace”—complete, settled, guarded peace.

But notice the condition:

“Whose mind is stayed on You.”

Stayed means:

• Anchored
• Held
• Fixed
• Refusing to wander

An anxious mind rehearses fear. A trusting mind rehearses truth.

Peace is not pretending things aren’t hard. Peace is choosing where your thoughts live.

This verse does not say:

• God keeps everyone in peace
• God keeps the distracted in peace
• God keeps the panicked in peace

It says He keeps the trusting in peace.

✦ Peace is not the absence of trouble—it is the presence of trust.

Point Three: Cast Your Cares — Don’t Carry What God Invites You to Release

1 Peter 5:7

“Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

This verse assumes something important:

You have anxieties.

God is not surprised by them. He is not disappointed by them. He invites you to throw them on Him.

Casting is not gently setting down. It’s not managing stress. It’s not spiritual stoicism.

Casting is forceful release.

Why?

Because you were never meant to carry what only God can handle.

And here’s the reason—simple, profound, and deeply personal:

“Because He cares for you.”

Not vaguely. Not theoretically. Not generally.

You.

Your worries matter because you matter to God.

✦ God does not ask you to trust Him blindly—He asks you to trust Him relationally.

Putting It All Together

Proverbs tells us where to place our trust. Isaiah tells us what trust produces. Peter tells us how trust is practiced.

• Trust the Lord fully
• Fix your mind on Him continually
• Cast your cares on Him honestly

This is not a one-time decision. It is a daily posture.

Sometimes hourly. Sometimes moment by moment.

Trust is not passive—it is practiced.

Conclusion: Let God Carry What You Cannot

You don’t have to understand everything. You don’t have to control everything. You don’t have to carry everything.

God is not asking you to figure life out. He is asking you to trust Him with it.

✦ What you release to God is not lost—it is secured.