Trusting in God

Sometimes as I read Scripture, I find something that causes me to pause and reflect.

That was the case this morning. I was reading Psalm 41. In this Psalm, David’s enemies are pursuing him, saying evil things about him, and devising evil plans against him. Even his best friend has turned against him. He is all alone, and fears that death is near.

Yet he looks to God. All of his hope is found in God. He believes that God will lift him up and deliver him. And his proof? Verse 11: “By this I know that you are pleased with me, that my enemy does not triumph over me.”

How does David know that God is still with him? Because his enemies, while hotly devising evil schemes, have not yet killed him!

I find that pretty incredible. Today, so many people want God to deliver them from every bump in the road. Every hitch, every setback, is cause for wonder if God is still there.

Have the faith of David. God is with you! The fact that you are still here is all the proof you need. Live your life for God now, no matter how difficult it might be. Because you’ll probably never be as bad off as David was when he wrote Psalm 41. And David still knew of God’s love for him.

Though you may face trials of many kinds, God is with you and will deliver you. Trust in that!

Does our faith make a difference?

I was thinking about this the other day. Does our faith really make a difference in our lives?

I think that it should. And in most cases I suppose that it does. As I was reflecting on this, I began remembering statistics that I heard in the past. I don’t have the references for these, but they should be available on the Internet. For example…

Statistics show that people in the hospital recover quicker when other people pray for them. The amazing thing to me is that they don’t have to know that others pray for them, they still recover quicker when people pray for them. This is part of the reason why you almost can’t find a hospital with out a Chaplain. You may not think you need God, but statistically you will recover quicker if you believe.

Statistics show that people who go to church have far fewer divorces than people who don’t. They first did this study comparing evangelical Christians against the rest of the population, but they asked if respondents were evangelical Christians, and took their word for it. That suggested that the rate of divorce was even slightly higher for evangelicals than the rest of the population. But if you apply one more filter, you see a huge difference. Those who actually attend church regularly have a dramatically lower chance of divorce. So you might not think you need God, but statistically, you are much less likely to get a divorce if you believe – and attend, a Christian church.

Our community has suffered a fair number of untimely deaths recently. I can't imagine not having faith. Thinking that death is the end, that there is nothing else, would be tragic in my mind. My faith tells me that death is not the end. There is hope, there is promise. There is eternity.

I have seen other statistics that look at longevity, at various measurements of happiness, and a host of other things. If you look at those people who believe and attend church, you will live longer, be happier, be healthier, and your marriage will be stronger.

Our faith really does make a difference!

Bricks that you can't build with

Here is quote that I came across last week that I really liked:

“God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind. Sometimes, you don’t have time to listen, and He has to throw a brick at you. It’s your choice: Listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick.”

Just a short thought for today – are you listening? Or does God occasionally have to use a brick?

A thought on worry...

I’ve been worrying lately. There is a situation in my wife’s family that has caused a rift, and I am really worrying about it. I’m not going to get into details, but I don’t know what to do, if anything, about it.

Since this has started, I’ve heard (over and over again) those passages that talk about giving our concerns over to Jesus, and for the most part, I do that. But I also remember Rick Warren’s quote in The Purpose Driven Life, “The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the altar.” Perhaps I’m dropping this concern at the altar, only to pick it up again as I leave.

I’m not unusual. Many of you may do the same thing. Many are filled with worry, when we should be enjoying the fruits of the Spirit. In my quite time this morning, I came across the passage in Matthew commonly called the parable of the sower. In this parable, we see that the seed of the kingdom is scattered to all. But many don’t receive it. Some of the seed feel among thorns, where it grew, but the weeds and thorns choked it out. Later in the passage, Jesus explains this to His disciples. “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”

As I was thinking on this passage, I began to see how worry chokes us of the Spirit and makes us unfruitful. Am I being unfruitful because of this family concern? Is God withholding fruit because of my worry? Are you as fruitful as you could be, or is worry choking your fruit as well?

There is another verse we can cling to, from Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” Let’s all of us, you and me, allow God to work through these things that worry us, that good might come of them. Let’s let go and let God work.

I know it’s a lot easier to say than to do this, but we can, if we are confident in God’s word to bear fruit in our souls. One thing for sure, our worrying can’t help the situation. It only hinders God’s work.