We have a tool at our house that my wife and I call our “grabber.” This three foot long instrument has two rubber-coated claws on one end. On the other end there is a handle with a triggering mechanism to close those claws around various objects. We use it to grab things which are just out of our reach. It works reasonably well.
That “grabber” could be used to illustrate one of the ways we think about faith. Of course, God’s saints are sinners who have been saved by grace through faith. Christ Jesus shed His blood on Calvary to purchase our redemption, and we have made that purchase our own by taking hold of it by faith. We grabbed it with the faith that God has given to us.
That is just one way to look at faith. But when Jude exhorted us to “earnestly contend for the FAITH,” he wasn’t referring to a grabber. He was using the word “faith” to speak of those Biblical principles which we believe – our “creed.” Then Luke used the word to speak of the gospel, when he said in Acts 6:7 – “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the FAITH.” Acts 16:5 is speaking of the doctrines of Christ when it tells us, “And so were the churches established in the FAITH, and increased in number daily.” Someone might use the word “trust” when speaking about “hoping” for something. “I trust that I will see you all here in the house of God next Lord’s Day.” None of these are speaking of faith in the same way as Ephesian 2:8 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith.”
When I looked up the word “faith” in my Roget’s Thesaurus, I found six synonyms: “Trust, reliance, confidence, expectation, belief, and creed.” Isn’t there quite a variety of meaning between most of those words? For example, it is one thing to rely or depend on the Lord, and it is quite something else to live in expectation of His leadership or His power. A “belief” and a “creed” may be the same thing, but to “believe in a certain creed” again is different. And to grasp salvation by faith is not exactly the same thing as constantly trusting God our Saviour.
In the midst of other aspects, God wants our faith to include an utter trust in Him.
And by “trust,” I mean a firm dependence in the reliability, truth, ability, and strength of our omnipotent God. I trust that you can see some of the reasons why this trust is important. For example, we live in dangerous, unreliable days, when things in our lives can change very quickly. We need something or some ONE in whom we can trust for stability and strength. These are days when the wicked god of this world controls many things for his honor and glory. These are days when sin abounds, and as a result temptations abounds even more. These are days of darkness on so many different levels.
I got a phone call recently from Kootenai Electric Company, the utility which supplies electricity to our house. The message was that this Friday night they will turn off our power, so they can do some routine maintenance. If I have to get up sometime during the middle of the night to go to the other side of the house, I will either be bumping into things, or I will have to trust in a flashlight to see. I need help in the darkness. And similarly, I need to depend on God to navigate through the darkness of life.
Isaiah 50:10 says, “Who is among you that feareth the Lord”? I would like to think I am in that number. “Who is among you… that obeyeth the voice of God’s servant?” I hope that might be said about me. “Who is among you… that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay (or lean) upon his God.” The context of that verse is another of Isaiah’s prophecies of the coming Saviour – the Son of God. In the darkness of this wicked world, I not only need the Lord, but I need to actually trust and depend on His care.
Earlier, in chapter 26, Isaiah gave us some very encouraging and memorizable thoughts. “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” These verses don’t encourage us to simply “believe in God.” It is much stronger – “trust ye in the LORD.” Why should we trust in the Lord? Because He is eternal and in Him is everlasting strength. I think it is interesting that Isaiah calls our God “Jehovah, Jehovah,” reiterating His covenant relationship to His people. But here is the point: you can trust Jehovah, so depend on Him. Like the stroke victim who has limited use of his legs, leans on his walker, put all your weight on the Lord.
Why should we trust in the Lord? I don’t want this to sound bad, but do we have any other choice? Who is guaranteed to be here for us next week? Friends die, governments change, laws can be broken. We need someone who is absolutely and eternally dependable. And that only mean the eternal God. Psalm 118 says, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is BETTER to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Sometimes the Holy Spirit likes to play games with our hearts, and in this case He does that by so soundly understating things. “It is BETTER to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” It is better? Better? Really? It is absolutely the BEST thing that we can do.
You have Proverbs 3:5 memorized don’t you? “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” We all tend to trust our hearts and our heads; we trust what our eyes see, and what we hear. But each of these parts of our lives and bodies are unreliable. Just yesterday, Judy referred to something saying, “but maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me.” Not only do our eyes play tricks with us but so do our minds and hearts. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not (do not trust) thine own understanding.” Do you have a major decision to make? Think about it. Weigh all the options. But do so committing your mind, your heart and your logic to the Lord. Trust Him not your own problem solving process. “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”
When Paul was counseling his young helper, he said in I Timothy 6: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” Why shouldn’t people trust in their wealth or their ability to get money? Isn’t it obvious? Because such things are so fleeting. Why not trust the source of all things than the fickle end of things? The context of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy should be considered – After pointing to the “appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he calls Christ, “the blessed and only Potentate the King of kings and Lord of lords. Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” In a dark and dangerous world, we need to trust and depend on Someone who is substantial and capable of meeting our every need.
Consider some of the scriptures which speak of the blessings of trusting in the Lord.
A couple weeks ago we spent some time considering the shield of faith. I don’t think I quoted II Samuel 22:31 in that message, but I’ll do it now. “As for God, his way is perfect,” which means that it can’t be improved upon or defeated. “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried.” This isn’t saying that the written Word of God, the Bible, has been tested by history or science and has been proven to be true. This is saying that the voice or words of Jehovah are fully dependable. “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.” Go ahead and strap on that shield of faith, because God is perfectly suited to your needs. I know that in the movies, the gladiator or hero, always loses his shield, but wins the battle anyway. But that is not real life. We need to trust the God who is always available to shield us.
David says in Psalm 31:19 – “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that TRUST in thee before the sons of men.” It is good to fear the Lord – to live in awe before Him. It is good to serve the Lord and to obey His precepts. It is fantastic to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation. But there is a special goodness when God’s people live in His trust before the sons of men. “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man; thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavallion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the LORD.” “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.” So, “be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” – Psalm 32:10-11. “The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servant’s and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate” – Psalm 34:22. Psalm 125:1 – “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.” “The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe” – Proverbs 29:25.
The Holy Spirit knows the weakness of our faith and so He has given us scripture after scripture to encourage and stabilize our trust in Him. We have good reason to put our trust in the Lord.
But what does it say when Christians do not trust in Him as they should?
What usually happens to a marriage when one spouse doesn’t trust his/her partner? Doesn’t the party who is not trusted feel hurt? Doesn’t that damage the love between the two? Doesn’t that marriage eventually end in disaster? We know that our God doesn’t have human emotions, but don’t try to tell me that He isn’t offended when we don’t trust Him. A lack of trust in the Lord might be simply called “sin.” It is certainly “unbelief.” There is probably some degree of “idolatry” in it, because the person lacking that trust is suggesting there is something more powerful or more authoritative than the Lord. When we don’t trust the Lord as we should, we are effectively pushing the Lord’s blessings from us.
And what sort of message does such a situation leave with the children? If you and I can’t trust the Lord to take care of us in our days of sickness… If we worry and fret about temporal things… what is our friend going to think about our witness? If we are trying telling the lost to trust Christ as their Saviour, but we can’t trust Him as our friend or our mediator, our friend is not going to put much stock in our gospel.
We need to learn to put more and more trust in the Lord. But we need more than talk and instruction. We need to actually and tangibly do it. God Himself is honoured by our trust. And the lost world has a stake in our trust as well.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”