As the new year approaches, I like to sit with God and ask what He wants to focus on in the coming year. Oftentimes, He gives me a verse or a few words that will be the theme for the new year. This year was no different. 

As I reflected on the theme for 2026, I was reminded of some things that the Father has been speaking to me over the past few years. There’s been a recurring theme in my journal: “It’s a trust issue!” As I began compiling my notes, I realized there were a few facets of trust that the Father has been teaching me about. This blog post is one of those facets, and over the coming weeks, I’ll continue to unpack what Father God has been teaching me about trust. 

Today’s focus is on striving versus resting. 

If you were to ask me if I was more like Mary or more like Martha, I would say that I was more like Martha. I think that’s why the Holy Spirit dropped the words “ambition strains authority” in my spirit in 2023 when I was looking for a full-time job. 

The Father has been teaching me that ambition isn’t the problem, but selfish ambition is. Selfish ambition can lead to prioritizing self over God, thereby straining your spiritual authority. As followers of Christ, we have been given spiritual authority. But that authority requires a constant, deep, loving relationship with the Father to remain active and vibrant. Selfish ambition can cause you to take your eyes off of Father God and to put them onto yourself.

In Matthew 6:24 (NIV), we read, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The word “money” in that verse is translated “wealth” or “mammon” (a god that personifies money) in other translations. If you look up the original word used for “money” in the Strong’s Concordance, you will find that it means “riches, money, possessions, or property.” And in the Amplified Bible, we read that “mammon” refers to ANY earthly possession or ANYTHING that you trust in and rely on INSTEAD of God. An idol can be anything that comes before God in your life, anything other than God that receives your worship.

Matthew 6:24 warns us that self-centeredness and/or selfish ambition can be an idol – anything that props itself up against God is an idol – anything that causes you to turn inward instead of looking upward is an idol. 

I’m currently reading through a Bible study called Experiencing God by Blackaby & King. In this study, the authors state that self-centeredness seeks to make sense of life from an earthly perspective instead of a Heavenly perspective. It’s self-centered to reason away the experiences of this life solely using your five senses and logic, and apart from a Holy Spirit-informed perspective.

Do we trust God to provide all of our needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19), or do we trust in our ability to produce? Are we approaching life from a place of resting in (abiding in and trusting) God, or are we striving?

I can honestly say that I struggle with this. I struggle to maintain a Heavenly perspective, I struggle to believe that God is my provider when what I see with my eyes doesn’t align with His Word. But I’m getting better at taking God at His Word and trusting Him.

In 2023, when my husband left his career to become a local missionary, I was only employed part-time. Our finances were incredibly tight, and at times, we didn’t know how we would continue to pay our bills and put food on the table. It was a season of tremendous stretching! I’d love to tell you that I was full of faith at all times, and that I never allowed myself to slide into fear and anxiety, but that would be a lie. The truth is, in that season, I spent more time feeling fearful than faith-filled. 

I spent more time looking at what I could see in front of me, the lack of funds coming in, and the amount of funds needed to keep our family afloat. I was still spending time with God, experiencing His presence and hearing His voice, and God was consistently infusing me with the faith to believe that He is my provider. However, I would consistently take my focus off of God’s promises and put them into what I could see with my natural eyes and reason with human logic. 

You might not think it selfish or self-centered to want to provide for your family. And, technically, you are correct. However, it was the posture of my heart that was wrong in that season. I would take my eyes off of Jesus and put them on myself, striving and looking for work so that I could provide for my family’s needs instead of trusting God to open the right doors and to be my provider. 

I’m incredibly grateful to my Father God for providing for my family during that season. We were truly blessed beyond measure! But I struggled because I took my eyes off of the Father and put them onto my circumstances. If I had kept my focus on my Father God and remained confident of His promises for my family’s life, I would have experienced more peace, contentment, and joy, and less stress.

A Heavenly perspective requires full, daily submission to Father God and choosing to see things through His eyes. 

The Bible admonishes us to be continually transformed into the image of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:10), and to seek wisdom over wealth, choosing the path of surrender and following the Holy Spirit’s leading over selfish ambition (Proverbs 16:16, 20).

How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver... He who pays attention to the word [of God] will find good, and blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who trusts [confidently] in the Lord. Proverbs 16:16, 20 (AMP)

Striving in our own strength leads to discontent, soul sickness, never having enough, and unrest. Trust is rest! Trusting in God leads to peace and fulfillment. It isn’t easy, but neither is striving in my own strength. Every day, and in every situation, I must choose to see as my Father God sees; to think and to respond as He would respond.

In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus tells us that our focus should be on storing our treasures in Heaven. When our eyes are focused on earthly treasures (wealth/money), the glory light of Jesus has a harder time penetrating our hearts. 

For your heart will always pursue what you esteem as your treasure. 
Matthew 6:21 (TPT)

And in Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus promises that when loving God is our first and greatest priority, He takes care of everything else, and we have nothing to worry about. God is a good Father, and He takes excellent care of His children. 

Let us never forget that “to be loved by God is the highest relationship, the greatest achievement, and the noblest position in life” (Blackaby & King, 2022, p. 55). That resting in God is trusting in God, and that when we set our hearts affection and our minds attention on Him, He takes care of the rest. 

In 2026 (and beyond), may our focus be on working from a place of rest and not working for rest, and may we trust God to provide as we steward what He has placed in our hands.

Song for the "It's a Trust Issue!" series: “I Will Trust” by Red Rocks Worship

Book referenced in the post: 
Blackaby, H. T., & King, C. V. (2022). Experiencing God: Knowing and doing the will of God. Lifeway