It is far easier to face challenges if we trust that they are being used for a greater purpose. As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman points out in his fascinating recent article, "America, China and a Crisis of Trust," this is a principle of enormous geopolitical significance.
This week we’ve explored reasons to trust God’s will in uncertain times. Let’s close with this fact: the more uncertain the times, the more we need to trust God’s will. The more difficult the surgery, the more we need a skillful surgeon. The heavier the burden, the more we need a strong friend.
This week we’ve been discussing ways to trust the will of God in uncertain times. Today, let’s embrace the fact that God leads all who will follow and gives his best to those who leave the choice with him.
There is mystery at the heart of every major Christian doctrine: Is God three or one? Was Jesus fully man or fully God? Is the Bible divinely inspired or humanly written? Does God know the future, or do we have free will? The answer to each question is yes. Before you dismiss the Christian faith because of these intellectual tensions, consider the logical alternative: if your finite, fallen mind could fully understand God, either he would not be God, or you would be. If his “ways” are not “higher than your ways” and his “thoughts than your thoughts,” he is not the omniscient, omnipotent God of the universe (Isaiah 55:9).
This week, we’ve been exploring ways to trust God when it’s hard to trust God. On Monday, we chose to remember our Lord’s provision in the past as we trust him with our needs in the present. Yesterday, we responded to his call to trust not in “chariots” and “horses” but in their Maker. Today, let’s consider the fact that God’s timing is often confusing and frustrating to time-bound humans. Apparent denials or delays are actually manifestations of omniscient grace. If we knew what God knows, we would agree with what God does.
In Psalm 20, David noted that “some trust in chariots and some in horses” (v. 7a). Commentator H. D. M. Spence explains that the nation’s enemies to the north, principally the Syrians, were “especially formidable on account of their cavalry and their chariots.” They were known to have, on occasion, seven thousand horsemen in their army (1 Chronicles 18:4; 1 Chronicles 19:18), while David’s army appears to have consisted entirely of foot soldiers. Our society is losing trust in today’s “chariots” and “horses.” Now it is incumbent on us to offer them something they can trust with their days and their souls: “but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7b).
It is always too soon to give up on God. No matter how much we distrust our government or grieve for the direction of our culture, the King of the universe is still on his throne.
Humans were created to need our Creator and each other. As a result, we each feel an innate need to be loved and to love, to be served and to serve, to be trusted and to trust. In a day when such trust is in short supply, Christians have a providential opportunity to demonstrate the relevance of our faith in action. When we follow Jesus’ example by washing the feet of those we lead (John 13:1-13), we can then inspire them to “wash one another’s feet” (v. 14).
America has a real trust problem. We’ve lost trust in our institutions and each other, and the ramifications for society are immense.