Posted by: Anna Pop quiz: How many verses do you think there are about trust? 2? 3? 5? 8? 10 or more? (Hint: think more along the lines of how many eggs in a carton then quarts in a gallon) And the answer is. . . 10 or more! And that's just verses with the actual word "trust" in them. There are tons of verses implying that you should trust and rely on God. So. . . Why don't we? The fact of the matter is, I think trust is another one of those things we fail at. And I'm not pointing fingers here. I have had a hard time with it sometimes too. And why is trusting so hard? The truth is that it really shouldn't be. Think about it- why wouldn't we have cause to trust in God if we truly believe that He is all He says He is? Did you catch that? "If we truly believe". Perhaps trust isn't a matter of "Okay, I'm all yours God. I trust You to take care of me." and more a matter of "God, I truly believe that You are what you say You are, so I trust You." Now you might be thinking "Come on, I believe in God." And I don't blame you for thinking that. It can be hard to realize the difference between truly believing and saying "Yep." What I mean by that is this: If you read a verse saying that God is majestic, holy, faithful, and loving, you are probably in a way thinking "Yep, yep, yep, and yep." You're agreeing with the verse, but not trusting it. Bear with me- I know this is kind of confusing. What's the difference between agreeing something is true and trusting it to be true? Though its far from perfect, here's an analogy to make it easier. Say somebody said, "I love dogs. Dogs are awesome, friendly, loyal, and great pets." to you. Lets say you sincerely replied, "Me too. I think they're great." Next day, you're taking a walk through the neighborhood. You come to a house with a big, muscular pit bull in the yard. As you pass, you make sure to stay a few feet away from the fence and you don't even consider putting your hand anywhere near the dog. What if he's mean? Like I said, its not completely comparable. But it works. (And also note that I'm not saying you should try to pet a stranger pit bull, or any dog, for that matter.) But did you get the picture? You agree that God (or in this case, dogs) is awesome and all that. But you don't truly trust Him to be consistently so in your life. So what does all that mean? Maybe, it means that in order to trust God, you have to believe in what He is. Do you really believe that God is righteous, faithful, merciful, steadfast, all powerful, and loving? Because if you do believe all of those things, you really shouldn't have much problem trusting in God.
If you believe everything the Bible says about God, then you have every reason to trust Him, in everything, for everything, about everything. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
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Posted by: Anna
Multiple songs and Bible verses include phrases about God's strength in comparison to our weakness. For example, the song "Jesus loves me" has the following lyrics: "They are weak but He is strong." I think the chances are good that most of us will agree to being weak. And I am even more positive that all of us (all of us that are Christians anyway) will agree that God is strong. The chances, I think, are also good that most of you agree with the concept that 'God can use your weakness'. But I also think the chances are good that most of us are not quite grasping the full implications of this. Have you ever thought to yourself, "Tomorrow, I'm going to start that diet." or "Tomorrow, I'm going to get up on time." or "Tomorrow, I'm going to work out." or "Tomorrow, I'm going to get that email written."? I guarantee that you have. But how about this: "Tomorrow, I'm going to start truly following God." "Tomorrow, I'm going to take my faith seriously." Able to relate? I have an example from my own life. Its part of the reason I made this website, actually. After reading a couple of really impacting books, I was convinced to get serious about my faith and truly follow God. Within twenty-four hours, that resolve had weakened. Why? Because I realized something. . . I'm just a kid. I can't drive. I hardly have any money. What can I possibly do? For awhile, that stopped me in my tracks. I sighed and thought, Alright, I guess I'll wait until I'm older. Then I'll get on it. Luckily, it didn't take me much longer to realize that was not right. God doesn't accept "tomorrow". You know why? I'm going to borrow an analogy (one that I can easily relate to, ask my parents) from Kyle Idleman in his book Not a Fan. He explains it this way: Your alarm is going off in the morning, but you're sleepy and don't want to get up. You slap the snooze button. Ten more minutes. The next morning, you hit the snooze again. . . and again. The morning after that, three times. Pretty soon, you're slapping the snooze several times, and you're finding it more and more difficult to get up. Not long after that, you've practically stopped waking up to the alarm altogether. (trust me, the more you hit snooze, the harder it will be to wake up next time the alarm goes off) Making the connection? Once we put God off till tomorrow, we start putting Him off till next week. And then till next year. And then till I get a job. And then till I move and am settled. And then. . . you get the point. And the longer we put Him off, the harder it is to stop. That's the first reason "tomorrow" isn't okay. The second is this: lost time. If you started taking faith seriously today, instead of four years from now when you've got the job, have moved, or whatever, you could accomplish so much for God. If you wait, not only will the things God could have used you for fall apart. You might also get caught in things you don't want to be in. Now back to the point of weakness. A lot of the time, our reason for waiting till tomorrow is supposedly "legit". For instance, maybe we want to get that job before getting serious so that we will be stable and have more money to give. Maybe I want to grow up before getting serious so that I'll have more to offer. Maybe you want to get your life together and get some bad stuff behind you before getting serious so that you won't be distracted or still living a life of sin. All of those examples could be referred to as our "weakness". Me being a teenager makes me weak, because I don't have the money to donate, time to give, ability to do, and so forth. You needing a job makes you weak, because you are struggling financially and certainly don't have the time or money for faith. You being in the middle of a specific sin makes you weak, because you aren't yet "ready" to get serious. You aren't yet "qualified" to get serious. There are many, many weaknesses out there that stop us from truly following God. The answer to this issue? It can be found in this one verse: "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 Do you get what that's saying?! God's power, His amazing power, is made perfect in our weakness! You don't need to have the job! You don't need to be an adult! You don't need to get over that addiction! God can and will and wants to use you now, just as you are. He uses those weakness to make His power perfect. I'm not saying you should purposely be weak, purposely keep sinning. But the fact is that we will always be weak, always have something that makes us that way. But God will use us anyway! His grace is sufficient! I could probably go on and on. But the fact is that it is indeed summed up in that verse. God's grace is sufficient, His power is made perfect in our weakness. Don't use your weakness as an excuse. Don't miss out on all the good that can be had today due to weakness. . . let God use your weakness. Let Him work through it. Don't wait till tomorrow. So you go to church once, maybe even twice or three times a week. Maybe you go to a youth group or Bible study. As a kid or teen you probably went to a Bible camp or Christian summer camp of some sort. You read your Bible ever morning, or at least most. You pray before meals and/or going to bed.
Is all of that what makes you a Christian? Maybe. . . but today I'd like to challenge you to not let things like that define your faith. Now don't get me wrong- going to church, reading your Bible, praying regularly, attending a Bible study, all of these are good things and by all means, do them! But is that all there is to following God? Should it really just end when you get home? I don't think so. Over the last couple of months, I've been repeatedly challenged to take my faith more seriously. The fact of the matter is, I fall perfectly under the above category. I do all of those things. . . but not much more. I live for God on Sunday mornings, at Christian camps and classes, or whenever else it is convenient and expected. But what about the rest of my time? I have a thing for taking goofy quizzes (simply for the fun of it), and once took a quiz that asked this question: "Do you eat to live or live to eat?" I'd like to ask a similar question: "Do you live for God, or does God live for you?" Think of the thing that most often occupies your thoughts and time. (and be honest!) Some examples may be: My job. My family. My hobby. Now think about how big our God is. "Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?" Exodus 15:11 "Splendid and majestic is His work, and His righteousness endures forever." Psalm 11:3 God is the Creator of all things. He was and is and is to come. He is completely holy and blameless, working wonders. He is all this, and yet He still loves us and died for us. Now, compare that to whatever it was that occupies your thoughts and time the most. Even something like "my job" or "my family" does not begin to compare to a fraction of the majesty and awesomeness of the Creator of the universe. God is the One Who gave us life, Who made us. And He calls us to follow Him. Doesn't that mean He should be the biggest part of our lives? The thing we think about and spend time on the most often? The thing that matters most to us, and the thing that defines our lives? Shouldn't you live for God, instead of God living for you? |
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