Trusting God In Spite Of What I See

"I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth." —Genesis 9:13

“Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God— a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22). When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy.” - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

You may have heard the saying “Those who can’t do, teach.” Well, that may be true for some, but there are many teachers who are masters at their discipline and have chosen to teach others in that discipline, communicating their skills and knowledge they have gained in “the real world” in the classroom.  In the same way, I could not write the words that I do, had I not experienced what I write about.  That is the nature of discipleship.  I can study books that tell me about flying, but unless I actually have flown, it’s all hypothetical.  So …. as I read Chambers this morning … I was reminded of our faith journey.  God has called Martie and me to a life that is unfettered from conventional wisdom.  In other words, we do things that don’t make sense to “reasonable-rational” men … that is if you want a secure retirement and to live the American dream.  Nothing wrong with those things .. that is unless they are the source of your saying “no” to God.  If that is the case, they are stumbling blocks and should be tossed aside.

The most important question for a Christian to answer is .. “Do I trust God?”  if not, then you trust something else.  Abraham followed God and did not know where he was going.  He trusted God without seeing.  Life is like that.  We should not presume that we can get ahead of God. Martie and I are in the center of His will for us, of that we are confident.  We are doing what He called us to do.  Worldly consequences are not the measure of the “rightness” of the call.  If things don’t seem to be going the way you thought they would or should … will you still follow God and walk in obedience to what you “do” know? Or will you want to turn back like Israel facing the Red Sea. People asked Noah where the rain was.  It was on its way, but God was holding it back. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but we must be obedient to what we know today.  

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone