If You Will Not Trust, You Will Not Stand
January 9, 2026
Week 2 Focus, Trust under pressure
“…Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.” Isaiah 7:9
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Psalm 131:1–2 (David’s posture)
“Lord, my heart is not lifted up. My eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul.”
Break It Down
Judah is shaking. The threat is real. Fear is loud. And God speaks a line that cuts through the noise: If you won’t trust, you won’t stand. Under pressure, the question isn’t whether the storm exists, it’s whether your footing is in God or in your own control.
Trust Question
When pressure hits, what do you reach for first? God’s promise, or your backup plan?
God’s Intention
God is revealing that standing firm is not willpower, it’s trust.
He does not invite us to deny reality, He invites us to anchor deeper than it. Faith is not optimism, it’s settling the heart on who God is, even when outcomes are uncertain.
Weave It In
This verse takes me back to a season when the wheels were coming off on multiple fronts, financial strain, business pressure, family weight, even the possibility of losing our home.
What surprised me most wasn’t the size of the problems, it was the moment we realised we couldn’t control any of it. And strangely, that moment of surrender became a doorway to peace.
I remember thinking of Paul’s words, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
It was like the ceiling lifted. How bad can things get, really, if Christ is ours, and eternity is secure?
In that season, my wife and I were united, whatever the outcome, we would stay solid together. And even if we ended up with “nothing,” we believed we would still find our way through with God’s help.
And that’s the difference between belief and trust. Belief says God is real. Trust says, God has got this.
And it’s not a modern lesson. King David knew pressure too, real threats, real uncertainty, and the temptation to take on more than a human heart can carry. Yet he wrote:
“I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul.” (Psalm 131:1–2)
David was a king, yet he refused to carry what only God can carry, he quieted his soul and stayed in his lane.
That is the posture Isaiah is calling Ahaz into. Not denial or passivity. A quieted soul that refuses to be ruled by fear. A heart that does what it can today, and trusts God with what is too big to control.
Practice for Today
Write down two things:
1) What I can do today (one step).
2) What is too big for me (the part you keep trying to control).
Then pray: “God, I will do my part, and I will trust You with Yours.”
Prayer
Father, pressure makes me want to grip tighter and plan harder. But You are calling me to trust deeper.
Make my faith firm today, not because life is easy, but because You are faithful. Calm and quiet my soul when fear rises. Teach me what to hold, and what to release. I choose to stand on You, not on my fear. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Optional: Reflection
If you’re feeling stretched thin and want a longer reflection on a sound mind and quieting the soul under pressure, please take the time to read this blog I wrote a couple of years back when it felt like the wheels were coming off:
https://www.miredclay.com/blog/i-have-a-sound-mind