Skip to main content

Trust

 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:3-4)

         Yesterday, David’s lesson to us was to not fret – not even when evil people do evil things and seem to be blessed (or at least enriched) thereby. Don’t fret, even when you’re doing things you don’t want to do and you can’t stop. Fretting glorifies the evil, and takes the time and energy you might have used to combat that evil.

Oddly, we don’t have as much difficulty recognizing fretting or worrying as we do trusting and having faith.

David’s alternative to fretting is trusting. Normally, my response to mentions of words like trust and faith is a groan followed by a long lecture on how I don’t know what trust is or how to do it. Not this time. This time, David provides us with a parallel. One can either fret or one can trust. One can either worry or believe/have faith. It’s the same process.

When one worries or frets, one focuses on the thing or one sort of thing, and the news is all painful or bad. “Why is it I never get a break? Everyone knows he’s a crook, and he’s living in a beautiful home while I’m watching my house slowly crumble around me…” etc. etc., etc.

The parallel, or perhaps the opposite is just as simple. “I am protected. God will provide all of my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Here is where God wants me right now. Not my will, but Thine…” etc., etc., etc. Same process, different outcomes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more