Trusting God with Reckless Abandon

The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him. Nahum 1:7 Amplified Bible

I think I can safely say that most of us trust God to some extent.  We will all say that we trust God for our salvation...but do we trust Him with our mundane, everyday needs—having enough money for groceries and bills, getting along with our co-workers and those difficult people who must be gotten along with?  Do we trust God as much as we can trust Him?  As much as He wants us to trust Him?  Can we honestly say that we follow Solomon's directions in Proverbs 3:5:  “Trust the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”?

 

What about Psalm 56:11: “In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid...”?  Does that mean that I can't claim to trust God and still worry about stuff?  It looks that way to me.  What do you think?  According to that text, the opposite of trust is fear.  It's not possible to do both.

Think about tithing.  When we pay our tithe, we're trusting God to make 90 percent of our income cover 100% of our bills.  Or what about keeping the Sabbath.  We're trusting God to help us complete in six days what should take seven.  Have you ever known someone who paid their tithe and then worried all the time about how they were going to make ends meet?  Or someone who keeps the Sabbath, but worries all Sabbath long about what he (or she) should be doing?

When I was in college, I knew folks who gladly put away their studies as soon as the sun went down on Friday night and didn't think about them again...well, until well after Sabbath was over.  I knew folks who kept studying right through Sabbath because they felt they wouldn't be able to get finished if they put their books up for that 24 hour period.  And I also knew folks who grudgingly put their books away and spent Sabbath wondering how they'd get it all done come Saturday night. 

Now, I'll admit that I was part of the first group, but mostly because I was not much of a studier and was always happy to find some excuse to put my studies away.  But after watching all three groups of people, I can definitely say that those who willingly took Sabbath off and worked hard the rest of the week, accomplished at least the same amount of work that those who studied through Sabbath did.  I learned that I can trust God to make six days of work stretch to fit seven days of tasks.

Of course the same types of things happen when we tithe.  Miracles happen when we trust God in the little parts of our lives. 

But do we trust God to build us into the people who can work for Him?  We tell God that we want to do great things for Him, but are we willing to let God create the ability to accomplish those great things?  Or do we take off on our own because we feel like God is moving too slowly and we want to get the job done right now?  Do we trust God to heal us when we've hit the wall because we've run out ahead of Him?  Do we trust Him with our broken hearts and shattered dreams?

One author I read this week reminds us that we are called 

“to trust God in the midst of it all; to keep returning to the Lord; to continually acknowledge His sovereign control and absolute goodness in the face of crippling pain. ...He is an expert at fixing broken things.  He's also the master of breaking things that need fixing.” 

What an amazing thought!  We are called...called to be broken, so that we can be mended to “use what is broken to magnify His glory and spread His gospel of grace throughout your sphere of influence.”

“God offers us peace in the time of war, and He takes away our peace when our desire for comfort distorts our sense of right and wrong. God is never a reflection of us at all, and yet He always responds to us right where we are.  He provides for the poor, the hungry, the thirsty.  He humbles the rich and powerful who make themselves fat from the bitter toiling and suffering of others.”  

Isn't that amazing?  God knows exactly what we need and when we need it, and He's demonstrated it over and over again.  But we still have a hard time trusting His methods and timing.  Well, I do anyway.

But then God reminds me through Isaiah, 

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

What a blessing to know that God knows when I am afraid and He promises that He will make me strong again and help me.  You too.

I want you to read this (probably apocryphal) story that has made the rounds of e-mails asking you to forward it to your closest friends so that your wishes will all come true.  Because of that, I think I didn't really read it the first couple of times.  Maybe you didn't either, but I'm not asking you to forward this to anybody.  Just think about the amount of faith this one man had.

A pastor stood and walked to the pulpit and introduced a guest minister.  In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends.

An elderly man then stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.  “A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast,” he began, “when a fast-approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore.  The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into to ocean as the boat capsized.”

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story.  The aged minister continued with his story.  “Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life; to which boy would he throw the other end of the life line?  He only had seconds to make the decision.  The father knew that his son had given his heart to Jesus and he also knew that his son's friend had not.  The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of the waves.

As the father yelled out, “I love you, son!” He threw the lifeline to his son's friend.  By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night.  His body was never recovered. 

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. 

“The father” he continued, “was confident that his son knew Jesus as his Savior and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend dying with out Jesus.  Therefore he sacrificed his son to save his son's friend.

“How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us.  Our Heavenly Father sacrificed his only-begotten Son that we could be saved.  I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take hold of the lifeline He is throwing out to you.”  

With that, the old man turned and sat back down as silenced filled the room.

As soon as the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side.  “That was a nice story,” one said, “but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian.”

“Well, you've got a point there,” the old man replied glancing down at his worn Bible.  A big smile broadened his narrow face.  He looked up at the boys and said, “It sure isn't very realistic is it?  But I'm standing here today to tell you that that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me.  You see, I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend.”

“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,    they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31

Don’t Worry. Be Happy!

Easy for me to say, right?  But not really practical.  You’ve probably heard the intentional mis-quoting of Rudyard Kipling:  “If you can keep your calm when those around you are losing theirs…you clearly don’t understand the situation!”  We all worry, don’t we? (I hope I’m not the only one!)  Some of us worry more than others, for whatever reason, but we all worry about something.

What do you worry about?  Money? School? Kids? What to make for supper? What to wear to work or school?  Whether to buy this brand or that brand of cereal?  Does your shirt match your pants? Do you worry so much that you can’t enjoy anything?  Do you worry that you worry too much? 

So, do you think worrying is a problem?  One psychologist told me that worrying, like guilt, is what gets most of us off the dime.  Worry is what motivates us to make good grades; get up and go to work every morning; or pay our bills. If we didn’t worry or feel guilty about things, we’d never accomplish anything at all.  That’s disheartening isn’t it?  I’d like to think that I do things for loftier reasons than worry and guilt.  How sad…if it’s true.  What do you think?

Then, there’s the philosophy on the popular book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and it’s all small stuff.  That’s kind of the other extreme, isn’t it?  It’s right up there with the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” philosophy.  Is it possible to just make up your mind one day that you’re not going to worry about anything any more?  How do you do that?

Do you remember the Seinfeld episode where George’s father was trying to find peace and calm by saying to himself, “Serenity Now!”  whenever he felt he was loosing his cool.  Hilarity ensues as tension mounts and Mr. Kostanza tries to force himself to remain calm.  Each time he says, “serenity now”, it’s louder and more frantic until he’s yelling. And, of course, it doesn’t work.  I don’t believe that someone can just tell himself (or herself) not to worry and then not worry.  I’ve met people who are trying to live like that, haven’t you?  They go around pretending not to be worried about anything while their world is falling down around them.  Not a good place to be.

Bummer, I don’t think I want to live with either of those options.  Worrying all the time, about everything would be exhausting and depressing!  But then so would forcing myself not to worry.  Thankfully, as Christians, we have a third choice.

“ So I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about food or drink, or about clothing for your body. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing? See the birds of heaven; they do not put seeds in the earth, they do not get in grain, or put it in store-houses; and your Father in heaven gives them food. Are you not of much more value than they? And which of you by taking thought is able to make himself a cubit taller? And why are you troubled about clothing? See the flowers of the field, how they come up; they do no work, they make no thread: But I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God gives such clothing to the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is put into the oven, will he not much more give you clothing, O you of little faith? Then do not be full of care, saying, What are we to have for food or drink? or, With what may we be clothed? Because the Gentiles go in search of all these things: for your Father in heaven has knowledge that you have need of all these things: But let your first care be for his kingdom and his righteousness; and all these other things will be given to you in addition. Then have no care for tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Take the trouble of the day as it comes.” (Mat 6:25-34 BBE)

I heard a pastor say one time, that there are 365 “Fear not” verses in the Bible – one for every day of the year.  I’m trying to confirm that…still counting, but even if there aren’t exactly 365, there are a bunch of them.  That pastor said that God put those there to prove to us that we don’t need to worry. 

“God cares for everything and sustains everything that He has created…No tears are shed that He does not notice.  There is no smile that He does not mark.  If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be dismissed.  Our lives would not be so filled with disappointment as now; for everything, whether great or small, would be left in the hands of God, who is not perplexed by the multiplicity of cares or overwhelmed by their weight.  We should then enjoy a rest of soul to which many have long be strangers.”p471-472Mind, Character and Personality, Volume 2

The question is not, then, “How do I stop worrying?” but “Do I trust God?”  That’s a much easier question to answer.  My personal experience tells me that I can trust God.

But that raises another question.  If there are 365 fear nots in the Bible, that would imply that God really, really doesn’t want us to worry.  So is it wrong to worry?  Ellen White says in The Youth’s Instructor/January 23, 1902 “The Fair Flowers of Promise", 

“God is dishonored when we fret and worry.  Thus we show that we are not trusting in Him but in ourselves.”  Another time she tells a friend “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, but cease worrying.”(2MCP467.3)

I’m not sure whether or not worrying could be considered a sin, but I think it, at best, is a waste of time and, at worst, can separate us from God. 

“When we take into our hands the management of things with which we have to do and depend upon our own wisdom for success, we are taking a burden which God has not given us and are trying to bear it with out His aid.  We are taking upon ourselves the responsibility that belongs to God, and thus are really putting ourselves in His place.  We may well have anxiety and anticipate danger and loss, for it is certain to befall us.  But when we really believe that God loves us and means to do us good, we shall cease to worry about the future.  We shall trust God as a child trusts a loving parent.  Then our troubles and torments will disappear, for our will is swallowed up in the will of God.(2MCP468.3)

I don’t want to do God’s job, do you?  And if it’s not my job, then I don’t have to worry about it!  Cool.  That makes not worrying a whole lot easier than I thought.  What a relief!  Because we have lots of proof in the Bible that God only wants what’s best for us.  He is our Good Shepherd and our loving Father.  Jesus gave His life to give us the best future He could and He wants our present to be good as well. 

“For I am conscious of my thoughts about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope at the end."  (Jer 29:11 BBE)

If you’re not convinced yet, that God is taking care of us so that there is nothing left for us to worry about, here’s one last E. G. White quote:

“Our heavenly Father measures and weighs every trial before He permits it to come upon the believer.  He considers the circumstances and the strength of the one who is to stand under the proving and test of God, and He never permits the temptations to be greater than the capacity of resistance.”(2MCP473.2)