A Robust Trust

December of last year we talked about resolving to trust God more this year and I revisited that idea last month: trusting God more than man. Trusting God should be easy because we know that He is the all-powerful God who cannot lie-and this means that if He promises something, it’s done.

“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”  Nehemiah 23:19

So why do we struggle with trust?  There are many reasons for this. But I don’t really want to talk about just trusting God today. Rather, I want to talk about trusting God abundantly. Not trusting God enough so that you believe He will do what He says He will do. I mean trusting God enough to not move ahead of Him. To not get in the way. To not act. Trusting God enough to stand still.

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46:10&11

Do you ever find that you have no doubt that God will do what He says He will do but at the same time you are unable to stand still and let Him do it?!?  Do you get anxious? Although you believe, do you sometimes feel a little shaky in your faith? You are not alone.

“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ [help out what is wanting in my faith with thy grace, the strength of which is perfected in our weakness-MH]”  Mark 9:24

It is possible to have faith at work at the same time that we have an awareness that we can deepen our faith and trust in God. In the Mark passage, the father’s faith (the size of a mustard seed, I’m guessing) was sufficient for the Master to cast out the demon from the boy and not allow it to ever return. The reason I say that the father’s faith was “sufficient” is not because Jesus needs our faith in order to accomplish anything. Rather, I say that because of scriptures like this:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:6&7

The father’s faith was sufficient. His plea to Christ was not that the Lord would deliver him from doubt but that He would give Him grace to more fully trust and believe both in His ability to deliver and willingness to do so…that his faith would be robust.

Precious one, should that not be the cry of each of our hearts? “Lord I believe; please help my belief in You to become more robust and stable!”

Amen!