(Note: The title of this message comes from Rick Warren; however, the content is original)
There are two times when it’s difficult to trust God. One is when things are going badly. And the other is when things are going well. The author of Proverbs understood this fact of human nature, and he expressed it in the form of a prayer:
[G]ive me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ’Who is the Lord ?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." – Proverbs 30:8-9
Wealth can be a blessing. But it can also be a snare. Because when we have an abundance of this world’s goods – ample food and clothing, a fine home, money in the bank, a secure retirement – then the temptation is to trust in those things, to rely on our possessions to protect us and satisfy us, instead of looking to God to supply our needs. Paul warned against this in his first letter to Timothy:
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." – 1 Timothy 6:17
Jesus made the same point, when he said that it was harder for a rich man to enter into heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Why? Because wealth tends to make us self-sufficient, and self-sufficiency is the opposite of trusting in God.
In Scripture we have many examples of this phenomenon, this tendency of men and women to forget God when their needs have been well taken care of. One of my favorite cases is that of King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the great Babylonian empire. He had honor, power and wealth, everything a man’s heart could desire. But instead of making him thankful, it made him arrogant. Instead of causing him to worship God, it puffed him up with pride and self-admiration.
"All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. . . [A]s the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, ’Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’
The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, ’This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.’
Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever."
–Daniel 4:28-34
Thankfully, Nebuchadnezzar eventually came to his senses. His experience was, to say the least, unusual. But my point has to do with the king’s attitude, which was not unusual at all. The more we have, the less we think we need God. We become self-confident. We become satiated with pleasure, and comfort, and security, and we mistake material well-being for spiritual fulfillment. We think that since we have what we need materially, we must also have all that we need spiritually. But, as Christ warned the church at Laodicea, that is a delusion. In Revelation chapter three, we read this:
"You say, ’I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." – Revelation 3:17
They thought they had everything, when in fact they had nothing of any real value. How could they be so mistaken? Because wealth tends to blind us to our need for God. Many churches with large buildings and large endowments suffer from the same problem.
The other time when it’s difficult to trust God is when things are going badly. Satan understands this. In the Old Testament, we read that he used this argument to goad the Lord into afflicting Job:
"[T]he Lord said to Satan, ’Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’
’Does Job fear God for nothing?’ Satan replied. ’Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’" – Job 1:8-11
Satan had good reason to make this accusation. It wasn’t accurate in Job’s case, but in general it holds true. There are many people, including some who consider themselves Christians, who are fair-weather friends of God. When times are good, they show up for church, they read their Bibles, they try to live a good life. But when they face serious trials, they become angry at God. They may even abandon the faith they once professed. They can’t trust Him in the storms of life. They thought their religion made them exempt from suffering, and so when it arrives, they become disillusioned and bitter.
It’s difficult to trust God when your life starts falling apart Let me give you a personal example. It’s relatively minor, but it happens to be fresh in my mind. This week, our family took a vacation to Washington, D.C. We borrowed an RV, and we drove it to a campground just outside the capital. Now, before I tell you what happened, let me say that we enjoyed our trip very much. We had a good time sightseeing and spending time with the kids. However, there were a few glitches. First of all, about an hour out of Cleveland, we pulled over at a rest stop to get some coffee. When I got back in the camper, it wouldn’t start. R-r-r-r-r-r. Well, I thought, this is going to be the shortest vacation on record. Sixty minutes on the Ohio Turnpike. What was the problem? Were we out of gas? I couldn’t tell, since as I discovered, the fuel gauge wasn’t working. Happily, we were only about fifty feet away from several gas pumps. Unhappily, we had no way to transport fuel from the pumps to the camper. All we had was a half liter of bottled water. So I emptied the bottle and made six trips back and forth to the pumps, purchasing twelve cents’ worth of gas each time. Finally, the engine started and we were on our way. Later, we stopped at another rest stop, and the camper again refused to start. After that, I left the engine running when we stopped to use the restroom.
When we arrived at the campground, the office had closed. Not to worry; we had been assured on the phone that if we arrived late, the night watchman could check us in. However, he had no record of our reservation. At this point, it is past eleven p.m., and I’m wondering if we’re going to spend the night parked by the side of the road. But thankfully, he eventually found us a camp site.
On Tuesday, we were on our way to Mount Vernon and missed our exit. We spent an hour driving around, lost, in suburban Washington. Finally, we were saved when a nun saw us looking at a map and stopped to give us directions. But on our way back, I started hearing this awful grinding noise whenever I put on the brakes. And then, something bad happened, something you never want to have happen when you’re driving a 25-foot camper through rush hour traffic on the Washington, D.C. outerbelt. The power steering and brakes went out. Somehow, we made it back to the camp. But then followed three days of trying to get some very expensive parts of the engine replaced, in between bus and subway trips to the Smithsonian and the Washington Monument.
In addition, while we were in D.C., five hundred miles away from home, I got a message on our answering machine from the Cleveland Water Department. Seems that a water main had broken in front of the house next to us, and they were notifying us that our yard was full of water, and we might want to check the basement for flooding. Well, to make a long story short, our vacation was two days longer, and about a thousand dollars more costly, than we had planned. The good news is that the kids loved it. Due to the delay, we got to do lots of extra things, like go paddle-boating next to the Jefferson Memorial, and see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
I’m sure you’ve all had weeks like that, and probably much worse. I don’t know about you, but my response when things start to unravel lies somewhere between puzzlement and frustration. Theoretically, at least, I know that God’s in control; I believe in his wisdom, and goodness, and love. But I just can’t figure out what in the world he’s doing. How does it advance the kingdom of God for our family to sit in a hot camper on the Ohio Turnpike for an hour, unable to get the engine to start? How does it promote the cause of Christ for our reservations to get misplaced? To what part of God’s cosmic plan is it essential that our brakes and steering go out?
When things are going well, it’s difficult to trust God because we tend to forget Him. "I’ve got things covered here, Lord, thanks. I’ll let you know when I need something." But when things are going badly, we have a hard time trusting God because we fear that he’s forgotten us. Or that perhaps he really doesn’t know what he’s doing. Or that he’s not completely in control of what’s going on. Because we can’t see the good in what’s happening to us. We can’t see a way for this to all turn out OK. We can’t envision a scenario in which our suffering – our loss, our pain, our sorrow – could be part of a good, and wise, and right plan. His purposes are beyond our ability to comprehend. And so we doubt. Perhaps we don’t want to; perhaps we don’t like to admit it, but we wonder. Is God really there? Is he really working out all things for the good of his people? Does he really have my best interests in mind? Can I trust him, with my health, and my family, and my life, and my future?
What I’d like to remind you of this morning is that faith is a process of growth. It’s not instantaneous. Listen to this episode from the life of Christ; perhaps it will encourage you.
"A man in the crowd [said], ’Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.’
’O unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ’how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, ’How long has he been like this?’
’From childhood,’ he answered. ’It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’
’"If you can"?’ said Jesus. ’Everything is possible for him who believes.’
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ’I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. ’You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ’I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out." – Mark 9:17-26
We can observe a couple of things from this story. First, although the father’s faith was genuine, it was not perfect. It was not absolute. Hope and doubt contended together within him; belief striving against unbelief. But here’s the key point: he had enough faith to bring his son to Christ. However weak his faith may have been, he chose to act. He overcame his doubt and brought his boy to the healer. And that made all the difference. Because once the boy came into contact with Christ, it wasn’t the strength of his father’s faith that mattered; it was the power of Christ to heal that mattered.
There are men and women of great faith, indestructible, unwavering faith. But most of us will always be saying, as this father did, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" And that’s all right. What matters most is the object of our faith, Jesus Christ, and the fact that we are growing and learning and seeking after God. What I’d like to do in the time we have remaining is talk about how we can do this; how we can nurture our faith in Christ; how we can learn to trust God. Because growing in faith is not something that just happens. It takes time, and patience, and intentional effort. But the rewards are well worth the cost: rewards like peace, and joy, and contentment, and the ability to keep your wits about you in the midst of tough situations.
So how do we grow in faith? How do we strengthen our faith? How do we learn to trust God?
First, develop the habit of turning to God throughout the day. The mistake most people make in the area of faith is waiting until there’s a crisis before they seek God. And then they have problems because they find that their faith "muscles" aren’t well developed. It’s very difficult to trust God in the big things if you haven’t learned to trust him in the small things. For example, usually when I pick up the phone I say a brief prayer, before I even know who’s on the line. Something like this: "Lord, please bless this call. Help me to say the right thing." I’m developing the habit of trusting God for my phone conversations. Every week, as I prepare the sermon, I pray that the Lord will give me a word to speak that will meet the needs of the people who gather for worship. When I get in the car, I often say a brief prayer asking for safe travel, or when Charlene or the children are going somewhere, I pray for them. The details of the prayers aren’t important; what matters is that you’re training yourself to rely on God throughout the day. You’re developing a conscious awareness of God’s presence and power in your life. And then, when the difficult times come along, you’ll be prepared.
If that sounds reasonable, then do this: Whenever you find yourself worrying about something; whenever you feel that little twinge of anxiety; just pause briefly and send up a short prayer. Not only will it calm your heart, but it will help you develop the habit of placing your trust in God.
Second, we grow in faith by getting to know God, by becoming well acquainted with his character.
If you don’t develop a relationship with God; if you don’t get to know him, it will be very difficult to trust him when the storms come. It’s just easier to trust someone you know. When I was standing in the RV park with an undrivable camper, and a mechanic I’d never met before told me that I needed an eight hundred dollar repair, it was hard for me to trust him. Did I really need to have the parts replaced? Was he going to take advantage of me? I didn’t know his character; I didn’t have a track record to judge by. But over the course of three days, I got to know him well enough that finally I did trust him. It’s the same with God. The better we know him, the more we become convinced of his trustworthiness; his power, and wisdom, and love, and integrity. And one of the best ways to get to know God is by reading and studying the Scriptures, especially the gospels, because it’s in Christ that we see God most fully and clearly revealed. As the author of Hebrews puts it:
"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being."
– Hebrews 1:3
And when Philip, one of Christ’s disciples, asks to see the Father, we read that,
"Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ’Show us the Father’?" – John 14:9
Do you want to know what God is like? Then look at Christ. Look at how he responded to people, and imagine yourself in their place. Look at how he treated children, and those who were sick, or hungry, or in need of forgiveness. Do you think you could trust a man who loved people the way Christ did; who spoke to people, and listened to people the way Christ did; who gave of himself and served people the way Christ did? Then you can trust God, because Christ reveals God and is God. As personally as Christ cared for Mary and Martha, or Peter, or anyone else he met, that is how personally he cares for you. The love he showed them – these people in the pages of the New Testament – that is the same love he has for you.
Third and finally, we learn to trust God by doing it – by simply stepping out in faith, like the father who brought his son to Christ. When we do that, we learn by experience what cannot be learned any other way, that God is faithful. We need to read and study the Scriptures; we need to pray; but in the end, we have to act. And when we do, we will find that the promises of God are true. We will find, as Peter wrote, that, "the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (1 Peter 2:6) Won’t you do that today? Won’t you place your trust and confidence in Christ?
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
