All in Trusting God
When we are going through a trying time in our life how do we react to it? Do we worry, and stress, over what is occurring to the point that our health is affected, or do we turn to the Lord, and trust in Him to calm the turbulence that is buffeting us? Fear is a natural occurrence in life, but too much of it is detrimental to our wellbeing. God looks after His children, and can fix any problem that is tossing us about, but is our faith strong enough to trust in Him, and do we do His will?
When we are pursued by our enemies, and set upon by illness or other catastrophe, do we weep, and cry incessantly, before God? Do we stand before Him shouting towards His throne as if that would move Him to swifter action? Maybe we grow weary and turn to others for deliverance? The question today is How do we trust and wait upon the Lord? Trusting in God’s salvation will bring His peace to our souls... and absolute silence to us as we wait upon Him.
In whom do we trust when we rise to face each morning? In whom do we entrust the safety of our souls when we close our eyes each night? Who Is it that walks with us every step of our day? The world would have us believe that men can lead us, and watch over us, yet there is no strength in their arms, nor wisdom they can employ that we don’t possess ourselves, and we are not enough. God, and Jesus Christ are our true hope, and our certain salvation; in them we find perfect trust, and from them comes our safety, sure passage through life, and every blessing.
When we accept God as our Father, and Jesus as His Son, and our Savior, we struggle and suffer immensely in our newly found life. During these early days we are tempted and challenged; in them we have to determine whether we will go forward in our faith... or not. Suffering for our faith is not a punishment for the believer, but hardens us like cold water tempers iron, and sets in us the image of Christ.
Do we profess faithfulness, and yet are dissatisfied with our life? Is our faith easily shouldered on Sunday, but burdened down by life the remainder of the week? We are meant to be satisfied in every aspect of our lives by our faith alone, and yet we often find ourselves wanting the things of the world, and asking in prayer for the worldly. Contentment in those things that God provides through His Word, and that Jesus teaches us, should be enough to meet our every need... and yet the comforts of the world continue to tempt us, and we wander lost so much of the time.
As Christians, how are we living right now in this time of fear and global sickness? Where are we placing our faith, and our hope? Moreover, in whom are we steadfastly trusting? When we suddenly find ourselves locked out of our church buildings, unable to take communion with the other saints, and facing great difficulty, are we looking towards the Lord and asking “Do you know us? Have you forsaken us?” In times of great hardship, and uncertainty Satan finds The hunting easy, but don’t fall victim, because our God is still ever present, and knows who we are... we are His!
When we are in the midst of some earthly challenge, or tragedy, and our prayers have been made, but the answer escapes us, or is not to our liking, do we begin to question God? Perhaps God intervenes, a miracle occurs, but it isn’t exactly what we have envisioned; do we approach Him with indignation and frustration because what He gave us wasn’t enough in our eyes? Well how do we, creatures of time, presume to think that our thoughts, or plans, are more perfect, good, or wise, than Gods will for us?
Trusting in God is not always easy, especially in the quiet times after our prayers have left our lips, and before His answer has become apparent to us, but in those hard times, Oh how our faith does grow. When we allow our hearts to lean on God’s strength, and we set aside our own reasoning, while depending solely on the understanding His Holy Spirit, we find our relief, and our strength abounds in His presence.
Do we allow the everyday afflictions of the world to redirect our trust away from God? Do we find ourselves, like David sometimes did in Psalms, arguing within ourselves regarding what we know of God’s goodness, provision, and rescue, and the need for our own physical selves to step in and defeat the enemies and obstacles that challenge us? In such times, David described what was happening to his spirit with words such as “cast down”, or “in turmoil”, but today we use terms like depressed, anxious, and lonely, when we face the world alone.
We are all sinners, but how wonderful it is that we have the opportunity to behold the Lamb of God. He is our hope, and without Him we would most certainly be lost. This is Jesus who has taken away the sin of the world. Have we met Him, or does he remain unknown to us? Men continue to seek Him, and ask these questions... Will He end my struggles, if not then will He help me through them, or is He asking the impossible of me?
So often we try to fix our own problems, or at very least help God as He endeavors to make things right. In this manner we are like a young child who gets in the way of his father after having just asked him for help. Most of the time we ask because we are unable to do these things, or at very least are unable to do them on our own, and yet when we ask for God to intercede, we then proceed to wrest control back from His hands as He responds. Is this you? Are you the impatient or presumptuous child?