I love my new coffee pot. It turns itself on, grinds the beans, brews the coffee, and keeps the pot warm. When I wake up, the coffee is hot. I'm completely spoiled by it!

Sometimes we can treat God like we treat a deluxe coffee pot. We depend on Him to brew us a good life on our schedule. We expect Him to answer our prayers according to our expectations and timing. Perhaps we even hope that He'll spoil us a little more.

However, God is not interested in our ways of depending on Him. Rather He chooses to impact our lives in His way and in His timing because He sees the big picture on earth and the bigger picture of eternity.

As Christ followers, how can we correctly depend on Him? By faith. “The righteous will live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:10)

Oswald Chambers put it this way: "Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at this time." Having a deliberate confidence in the character of God is believing God is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do.

Think about your most difficult battles in life -- perhaps sickness, finances, relationships, marriage, children, grief, stress, loneliness, etc. Do they concern matters of faith? Mine do. I'm tempted to think that God doesn't care, won't come through for me or help me. I'm tempted to handle things in my own strength and wisdom, to depend on  myself more than His grace.

However, I'm learning how to mentally capture the lies and replace them with truths about God, replace them with a “deliberate confidence in the character of God," namely He is all loving, all good, all knowing, all powerful, and all faithful.

Corrie Ten Boom during her imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp told of her experience in  trusting in God's character. During morning roll call and hardly able to bear the cruelty of the guard, she suddenly heard a lark singing. Everyone looked up at the sky, but she looked further and saw heaven. She remembered the words of Psalms 103:11: "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him". She said, “I suddenly saw that the ocean of God's great love is greater than human cruelty. God sent the lark every day for 3 weeks to direct our eyes to Him.”

During a time when I lay in the intensive care unit of a foreign hospital, my mind was whirling with frustration and confusion. “Why is this happening to me?”  However, the Spirit reminded me that I had a choice to make: to believe in God's love and goodness toward me (which would give me hope) or to not believe (which would lead to despair). I chose to believe that “...the Lord is good and his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Ps. 100:5)

In the trials of life, I've experienced the joy of trusting in the character of God. So can you.

Today in what situation can you choose to have confidence in the character of God? What particular aspect of His character applies?

Fran Dwelle is the Founder and Executive Director of JOY. Prior to moving to Bismarck in 1997, she and her husband were missionaries in eastern Europe where she founded JOY in Vienna, Austria. Fran enjoys helping women fulfill their purpose and discover their gifts and strengths. In her spare time she enjoys playing piano, reading, cooking Italian, walking, or having coffee with a friend. Read more posts by Fran.