Mass shootings, terror attacks and police brutality are situations that seem to permeate our presence all too often.  It seems the moment we exit one tragic event, we are already experiencing another.  Without question, we are living in some very turbulent and tumultuous times.

With all that is happening, a fear has gripped the hearts and minds of the masses to the point that people do not know whom to trust.  Some suggest trusting the government, some suggest trusting law enforcement, and some suggest trusting friends and family.

Some suggest trusting God.

Trust God you say? Yes, trust God! But how do I trust God when I feel that God has silently slipped off of the scene?  How do I trust God when it seems as if a God who claims to be everywhere appears to be nowhere? How do I trust God when it looks as if He is an absentee father?

The prophet Habakkuk gives the answer: “But the righteous will live by his faith” (Hab 2:4b NASB).

Trusting God is not always easy, but it is always necessary!

It is in these turbulent times when it seems most difficult to trust God because it seems that God has lost control.  Rest assured, however, because the biblical teaching about the sovereignty of God declares that all things are under God’s rule and control and nothing happens without His direction or permission. God is not simply sovereign de jure (in principle), but God is sovereign de facto (in practice).

The times are turbulent, the times are trying, and the times are troubling; and despite how turbulent, trying, and troubling things may appear, God can still be trusted. Trusting God simply means exercising faith in God or having complete confidence in God.  When you trust God, you believe in His plan, His power, and His purpose.

Believing in the plan of God means, despite what is happening in or around you, to accept that it is all a part of His plan.  God’s plan often comes with a process that many do not like to endure because the process can be painful; however, with God’s plan, the outcome is always positive. Not getting a desired job could be distressing, for example; however, trusting God means believing that God has something better in store for you. God’s plan challenges the very fiber of your faith, but it’s trusting God in the midst of the challenges that strengthens your faith.

During tumultuous times, believe in the power of God because it’s the only path to peace amidst peril.  God has the power to not only give you peace, but He also gives protection.  When it seems the government, law enforcement, and no one or nothing else can protect you, rest assured that God can.  Our trust must rest in Him.

Finally, know that God has a purpose for everything, and He has a purpose for you that is often revealed via the perils or troubles we face in life; perils and troubles that God also uses to make us stronger.

Though times are tumultuous, troubling, and trying, I take comfort in the words of one of the great hymns of the church.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.

Pastor Marcus D. Davidson, D.Min., is the senior pastor of New Mount Olive Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at mountolive.org and follow him on twitter, @mdd1911.