God loves us so much that He gave what was most precious to Him to be rejected and despised so that He could have us and we Him.
If God loves us to this point, then why do we doubt Him? Why do we doubt His goodness, His faithfulness and His justice when He has already displayed it at the greatest level possible by sending His Son for us?
“Christ shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
He says: “Come” (Matthew 14:29)
And, Do not be anxious, seek me and I will take care of you. Matthew (6:25-34)
We say we trust Him.
And we even convince ourselves until it is put to the test and we start doubting Him.
We say that we know better, or that God couldn’t truly love us or that His goodness depends on our goodness.
We start focusing on all the difficulties and problems and everything that makes it impossible and stop looking to the One who is in control of everything. We start thinking in human logic rather than God’s word and we begin to sink in the water of fear and doubt.
And it is as we are sinking that a hand reaches down to us and lifts us back up and says “You of little faith, why do you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)
God reaches down when we are faithless because He is faithful. Despite our failures and our doubts God is always faithful. And nothing we can ever do will change that.
My favorite song has the following lyrics:
“I may be weak but your Spirit is strong in me,
My flesh may fail but my God you never will”
(Give me Faith – by Elevation worship)
We will fail, fall and sink, but God never does. He is constant, faithful and good.
And so when we hear the following words of God through Isaiah:
“Fear not for I am with you
Be not dismayed for I am your God
I will strengthen you, I will help you
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”
(Isaiah 41:10)
We can trust Him.
Somebody once said:
“We trust God to save our souls but we have a hard time trusting Him for the smaller things in life. “
What will I eat?
What will I wear?
Where will I stay?
Who will I marry?
How will I live?
Trust Him.
Instead of worrying about those things, seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and He will add all these things to you.
(Matthew 6:33)
Trust Him for everything thing in life, be it little or great because He cares for you and He will give you what is best for you.
Will it be easy?
It won’t always be, but it will be worth it. Nothing of great value ever comes easily, there always has to be a price that is paid. But the price we pay is so little compared to the immeasurable glory that awaits us when we meet Christ face to face.
Will I be happy?
Let me tell you, there is not greater joy in life than to be where God puts you and to trust Him. God created us so He knows exactly what will bring us joy and often it is not what we originally thought.
Will it be safe?
Sending Jesus to die on the cross was not safe. It won’t always be safe, but He will be with us every step of the way. We belong to a home that is indestructible and imperishable and so let us strive with a hope that cannot be shaken to surrender our lives to the one who gave us it.
Jim Elliot, one of the five missionaries that were killed by attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people in Ecuador said this:
“He is no fool that gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Life is short, so safety should never keep us from following God.
Jesus says:
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
(Matthew 10:28)
You see faith is of no value if not acted upon. I could have all the faith in the world that a chair will hold me up but If I never sit on it my faith hasn’t been put into action. I could have faith that God is good and faithful but if I never step out and act upon this faith than it is useless. Knowing and acting are two different things. Don’t just know, live what you know.
It is so freeing to know that He cares for us and He will take care of our every need.
So let us trust Him and live our lives in obedience. Let us show, not just in words but in actions that we trust Him and are thankful for what He has already done.
Live radically.
“God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him”
