Let’s get right to the point…
We claim to trust God, and we understand that we need to, but do we really do so?
I know I can struggle with it. God has made all these promises to us in His word, but do I really trust Him enough to follow through? God has laid out the way to thrive in His kingdom, but do I really trust Him enough to live that way?
“Give us an example, Mr.”
Okay, let’s think about a few:
Here’s one. “Fear Not” or some variation of the phrase appears in scripture approximately 365 times. One for every day of the year. It’s used in various ways, but usually in the context of trusting God in uncertain circumstances.
So, you know you’re not supposed to fear when things are unsettled around you. But, the last time you went through a season of uncertainty, were you afraid? I know I have been. I know God has given me every reason not to be afraid, because there is no fear on earth that God hasn’t already conquered. There is no threat that is bigger than God, so why am I afraid? Yet, I do fear. So, I have to ask, Do I really trust Him?
How about another?
God has given us many guidelines for living a kingdom minded life that will thrive. But, we look at our personal situation and say, “Well, that might be true for most people, but it’s not true for me.” “I’m the exception to that rule.” “If God knew what I would be going through when He said that, he wouldn’t have written it.”
What are we doing in that scenario? We are saying that God isn’t really God, we are. God doesn’t know what’s best for me, I do. I don’t trust God. When, if we really trusted God, we would do what He says because we know that he has orchestrated the whole system for our benefit.
Another example of this is in our approach to church. I see this all the time, and I’m just going to say it.
There are a lot of people who would call themselves Christians who think they don’t really need church:
- “I know everything I need to know, so there’s no point in going anymore.”
- “I don’t get anything out of it, so why waste my time.”
- “I don’t need anymore Christian friends. They’re all bigots anyway.”
- “I don’t need to follow God’s guidelines for marriage, they are archaic. I have a modern understanding that they didn’t have back then.”
- “I don’t need to follow God’s principles for handling money, it’s my money, I’ll do what I want with it.”
When we say things like this, what we are really saying is, “God, I don’t trust you or what you say. I know better than you. Thanks for the advice, but I’m going to do it my way.”
It should come as no surprise to us when we say/think such things and then our lives unravel.
God didn’t design you to be the center of your own universe. That’s the lie of the curse. The enemy would have us think we are all we need. The enemy would tell us that we can do it all on our own, we can take all the credit and give God all the blame.
But, the truth us, you can’t. I can’t. We can’t.
So, do you trust God?
For many of us, I could look at our lives and say with a fair amount of assurance that you are trusting God. But, sadly, there are others I can look at your lives and say with an equal amount of assurance that you are not. That’s the harsh reality.
“Why so blunt?”
It’s simple, I don’t want you to waste your life thinking you’re doing fine, pursuing your own agenda and be sorely mistaken at the end that you were wrong.
But it’s even more than that.
I don’t want you to miss out on everything God has for you NOW…TODAY. For some of you, I see your struggle. I see the constant ups and downs. I see you take steps toward God, then steps away. I see you give Jesus the wheel and then take it right back. And, then I hear you complain about how your life sucks, everything around you is falling apart and that God must not love you.
The truth is, God loves you deeply. And, requiring you to follow His ways is part of His love. It feels overbearing, but that’s just because the culture has lied to us. If God didn’t love you, He wouldn’t have any kind of guidelines for you to follow. But, because He DOES love you, he gives you the guidelines that will help you thrive.
You see, God is not overbearing, he is overloving. He shows us His love in many ways, one of those ways being His word. He does not give you His word to control you. He gives you His word to help and bless you.
So, why not start doing what it says?