Monday, August 3, 2020

Trusting God - Part 1

Fantasy Landscapes That Are Real

This week, Michael writes that in his book “My Utmost for His Highest”, Oswald Chambers’ daily devotional on May 31 says, “Put your trust in the Lord for He will surely deliver you. Therefore, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. Do you believe Him? He is faithful to His Word. He will direct the path of those who put their trust in Him.” In trusting in the Lord, we will understand that which He has entrusted to us: His gift of the Holy Spirit that we may be equipped to accomplish His purpose in this life and the next (in Heaven).

The things of this world are uncertain and untrustworthy. In this world there are competing factions, competing interests, and competing sources of information. Trusting in the Lord means to place our confidence in something supernatural, beyond the powers of this world. The only source on which our hopes are founded is the One who is faithful and true: The sovereign Lord God Jehovah, our Almighty Creator.

The devotional book, ‘Come Away my Beloved’ asks, “How often has God called us to put our trust and confidence in Him? We can’t know if we are truly trusting in Him until we have been tested and tried. In the midst of panic and pandemic, where nothing is under our control, we will find that God is faithful to His Word. In times of crisis, when we trust in Him, committing ourselves into His holy hands, then we can rest assured that He will keep us in His own intensive care.”

According to Chambers, “It’s much easier to do something, to busy ourselves working for God instead of trusting and believing in Him.” When the centurion came to Jesus and pleaded, “Lord, please heal my servant who is at home sick with palsy and in terrible agony,” Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.” Then the centurion said with a heart of humility, “I’m not worthy that you should come under my roof. I’m a man in authority like you. I know what it means to speak with authority for others to act. Just speak the word and my servant will be healed. Just say it and it shall be done.” Jesus marveled and said, “I have not seen such faith, no not in Israel.”

Salvation itself is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. God sent His word through his prophets, priests, and scribes to bring a remnant of Israel to the point of believing-faith. God worked patiently with Israel for one purpose: your redemption and mine. Mary (the mother of Jesus), a descendant of David’s lineage, heard the angel Gabriel’s message that she would give birth to the Messiah. She believed the word of God and declared in faith, “Be it unto me according to Thy word.”

In John 2:24-25, Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. However, He did not commit himself to the people because He knew what was in the heart of man. He understood the sinful nature everyone inherited from Adam. Yet Jesus was not bitter because He put his trust not in man, but in the faithful word of His Heavenly Father.  

Let's continue Michael's message on "Trusting God" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

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