Yesterday, I blogged about the word ‘Confides’ and whether or not I could be someone God wants to share His heart with. Moving on from this today I believe that in order to be people God has confidence in (see the word CONFIDE nestling in there?!) we need to demonstrate the following characteristics:

1. Willingness to obey without necessarily understanding.
God wants to share his plans with us. We might not always ‘get’ them. Indeed, there were things that even the apostles – those who walked and talked with Jesus – were not ready, or able, to understand. Note Luke 9:43b-44
“”¦While everyone was marvelling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.”
It was hidden is an interesting phrase. Things can be hidden from us because we are not even looking for them. Are you looking for God’s voice amongst the hustle and bustle of your day today?
Even if we don’t understand, we must obey.
Quick story: recently a lovely girl who I adore asked to come and live with us in our basement flat. It was empty and I was delighted. But as I went to God with my little plan, He said, clearly, loudly and unoquivicably, “No!”
Oh.
Pants.
I wasn’t sure why”¦ and I was sad to have to go back to the girl in question and say what I had heard. She too was dismayed and a little rocked by my answer.
But a couple of weeks later, she rang me to tell me she had been given an amazing place to live (better than my flat) with another set of people who offered her more space for her work and no bills when she was away.
God had something better.

2. Ask God to make you clean and ready and receive His words.
Sometimes God wants to tell us something but we are too full of what we want to tell Him! We come to our prayer time with this huge long list and get to the end and then rush out of the door leaving God calling”¦ “Hello! I wanted to say”¦.” But we miss it! Remember, He knows what we want to say. We don’t know what HE wants to say! Talking to God is important, yes, but listening and repenting before Him is much more so.

3. Admit your position
David begins his psalm in this manner, “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God” (Psalm 25:1-2 NIV). David trusts in his God and is willing to confide his most precious possession to Him, his own soul. David is clearly in some kind of big, fat trouble, “The troubles of my heart have multiplied” (Psalm 25:17 NIV). He speaks of “my affliction and my distress” (Psalm 25:18 NIV) and “my anguish” (Psalm 25:17 NIV). He tells God he is “lonely and afflicted” (Psalm 25:16 NIV). David is under attack, “See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me” (Psalm 25:19 NIV)!
Telling God you need Him is the fastest way to get Him to run to you! He will come through for you if you ask, every single time. If you are facing some issues and problems, have you REALLY honestly given them to God again today?

4. Expect transmission
God wants to partner with us and tell us more about His perfect plans for us and others. He doesn’t want us feeling our way in the dark, tripping over the schemes of the enemy. Ask God to show you the plans of the enemy over your life. Ask Him to help you in your finances. Ask Him to heal you. Ask Him everything and anything.
Paul tells us, “And He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9 NIV). We should never think or believe that God wants us kept ignorant of His will for us.

Oh no. He wants to confide in us.