Have you ever hoped for something…only to have your hopes dashed? Have you ever found yourself really disappointed by life? Many of you, during this reign of Covid, have probably had many plans thrown by the wayside. Seniors…is this the year that you were hoping it would be? I know it certainly isn’t the life I was expecting to be living just one year ago. Remember last January? We were barely hearing things about Covid…and it was happening somewhere over in China…so who really paid attention? And now…note even 10 months after the shutdown, we have had over 425,000 deaths just here in the United States. Crazy!
And whenever huge stuff like this comes along, trusting in anything goes out the window. The qualifier for just about every plan is worse than Atlanta traffic. We used to say, we should be somewhere in South GA or Florida, and then we used the qualifier…depending on Atlanta traffic. Now all of our future plans, activities, trips, etc. have one big qualifier. What is it? Yeah…depending on Covid. So everything seems uncertain, tenuous, scary and trust in anything seems to go out the window.
Have you also noticed that trusting in God is even harder under these circumstances? Ever noticed how hard it is to trust God, even though the Bible says over and over again that He is trustworthy? But we’ve grown jaded. Cynical. Skeptical. What we read and what we see seem to be two different things. Especially in this time of Covid, when things that we once had hoped and dreamed for keep falling by the wayside. I bet, Seniors, that you were hoping for more for your senior year. I bet that all of you are just looking for the day that we can shed these masks and be normal again. Where is God in the middle of Covid? Why doesn’t He do something. Why does He seem silent?
When it comes to trusting God with our future, we often opt for what we think we see over what scripture says about God. And the devil uses the seeming contradictions to widen the trust schism between us and God.
Ever heard one of these? “If God is so good, why does He allow innocent children to die of starvation?” or “What kind of God would allow so much suffering in the world if He has the power to do something about it?” or “I trusted, I prayed, I believed, and my loved one died anyway—so how can I ever trust Him again?” Or the most recent one… “Where is your God now? Why doesn’t He do something about this horrible disease?” Ever heard any of those? If so, you’ve heard the devil speak to you.
Satan himself is the cause of all of the misery that we are suffering, and he looks up from his latest victim, with blood on his hands and screams—“If your God is so good, why didn’t he stop me from killing this one? If He’s so powerful, why didn’t He step in and do something?”
And while this is not a sermon on death and dying and fairness and good versus evil, the question does beg an answer. Perhaps a story by author Max Lucado from His book He Chose the Nails can help us understand more on this trust issue. Listen to this.
Ever tried to convince a mouse not to worry? Ever succeeded in pacifying the panic of a rodent? If so, you are wiser than I. My attempt was not successful. My comforting words fell on tiny, deaf ears.
Not that the fellow deserved any kindness, mind you. Because of him, Denalyn screamed. Because of the scream, the garage shook. Because the garage shook, I was yanked out of dreamland and off my La-Z-Boy and called to defend my wife and country. I was proud to go. With shoulders high, I marched into the garage.
The mouse never had a chance. I know jujitsu, karate, tae kwan do and several other ... uh, phrases. I've even watched self-defense infomercials. This mouse had met his match.
Besides, he was trapped in an empty trash can. How he got there only he knows, and he ain't telling. I know, I asked him. His only reply was a mad rush around the base of the can.
The poor guy was scared to the tip of his whiskers. And who wouldn't be? Imagine being caged in a plastic container and looking up only to see the large (albeit handsome) face of a human. Would be enough to make you chuck up your cheese.
"What are you going to do with him?" Denalyn asked, clutching my arm for courage.
"Don't worry, little darlin'," I replied with a swagger that made her swoon and would have made John Wayne jealous. "I'll go easy on the little fellow."
So off we went-the mouse, the trash can, and me, marching down the cul-de-sac toward an empty lot. "Stick with me, little guy. I'll have you home in no time." He didn't listen. You'd have thought we were walking to death row. Had I not placed a lid on the can, the furry fellow would have jumped out. "I'm not going to hurt you," I explained. "I'm going to release you. You got yourself into a mess; I'm going to get you out."
He never calmed down. He never sat still. He never-well, he never trusted me. Even at the last moment, when I tilted the can on the ground and set him free, did he turn around and say thank you? Did he invite me to his mouse house for a meal? No. He just ran. (Was it my imagination, or did I hear him shouting, "Get back! Get back! Max, the mouse-hater, is here"?)
Honestly. What would I have to do to win his trust? Learn to speak Mouse-agese? Grow beady eyes and a long tail? Get down in the trash with him? Thanks, but no thanks. I mean, the mouse was cute and all, but he wasn't worth that much.
Apparently you and I are.
You think it's absurd for a man to become a mouse? The journey from your house to a trash can is far shorter than the one from heaven to earth. But Jesus took it. Why?
He wants us to trust Him.
Explore this thought with me for just a moment. Why did Jesus live on the earth as long as he did? Couldn't his life have been much shorter? Why not step into our world just long enough to die for our sins and then leave? Why not a sinless year or week? Why did he have to live a life? To take on our sins is one thing, but to take on our sunburns, our sore throats? To experience death, yes- but to put up with life? To put up with long roads, long days, and short tempers? Why did he do it?
Because he wants you to trust him. Even his final act on earth was intended to win your trust. He Chose The Nails, p. 89 -91.
And so we return to the question: —“If your God is so good, why didn’t he stop me from killing this one? If He’s so powerful, why didn’t He step in and do something?”
The answer: He did. But He did it in the only way that still allows you a choice. God valued your choice so much that He Himself will not violate it. And so He wanted to show you that He can be trusted, but that trusting Him is a choice. He never wanted to remove from you your power of choice, otherwise, He would have played into Satan’s accusations that God was not fair And so the choice remains; your choice, my choice, and even Satan’s choice, along with the possibility of God being misunderstood and maligned. And Satan uses that very choice to cause many to turn away from God.
But if you look past the apparent contradictions, you will find that there is ample evidence to trust Him. Yet it still remains that it is all about the choice. YOUR choice.
And so we weigh the evidence. On the one side, we can see that God loves us. He came and died to save us. He’s promised to come back for us. But on the other hand, we can also see that there is much evil in the world. As Billy Bob once said, “That don’t take no rocket surgeon to figure out.”
It is much easier to go with what is seen than to trust the unseen. We can see all the violence and disease and death. So much so, that sometimes it seems impossible to see God. But that’s where the choice comes in. We will see what we choose to look for.
I went to Prater’s Mill with my daughter, Andrea, several years ago when they were having the old time country fair. One of the exhibitor’s there took photographs of birds. All of his photographs were of some type of wild bird. He had an incredible display. But there was one picture that really spoke to me. The framed version was $195. I’m too cheap to pay that much, but I had to have the picture, so I looked through all of his mounted photographs, and finally found it. And bought it.
In the face of all the ugliness; in the midst of the old and broken down, your eye begins to see a few sprigs of green vine. Signs that there is life in the brokenness. But if you look a little higher, you will see a magnificent ruby-throated hummingbird sitting on the sill where glass has been broken out, and he is looking UP!
That’s the way God works. In the midst of our broken and shattered lives, we’ve got to be looking for the tiniest evidence that shows that our God is still with us. It’s all about the choice. What are we choosing to focus on? The ugly and broken in this world? The cracked and peeling paint of our lives? The bird poop events that happen to us? Or are we choosing to look at the tiny gorgeous ruby-throated hummingbird promises that God has left for us. I have had this picture in my office for years on the back wall directly in front of my desk chair, so that no matter what life may throw at me...it always reminds me that I have a choice. You have a choice. We get to CHOOSE where we place our focus.
We can either grow jaded or joyful. We can grow bitter or better. Stronger or weaker. Hopeful or Hopeless. It all depends on what we choose to focus on.
Satan screams while God whispers. In our current world it may seem that God is silent, but He isn’t. He’s still speaking to those who will listen. And you can be sure of this, while He may start in a still, small voice, one day God will thunder and Satan will whimper. Our perspective makes all the difference.
Which reminds me of a story I read.
A number of years ago, there was a little girl that walked daily to and from school. Though the weather that one particular morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school.
As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school, and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Suddenly, there was a roar of thunder, and lightning, like a flaming sword, cut the sky.
Now fully concerned, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her daughter’s school. As she did so, she finally spotted her child. Rather than being terrified by the lightning, she saw her little girl walking along, and at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile.
Another and another were to follow quickly, each with the little girl stopping, looking at the streak of light and smiling. After witnessing the fourth flash, the mother, shook off her amazement, rolled down her window and called her to come and get in the car. When the young girl was safely in the car her mother asked, "What in the world were you doing? Why didn’t you hurry?" The child answered, "Well, I meant to come right home, but God just kept taking pictures of me."
How do you face your storms? Are you fretful and worried, or do you see God taking your picture for his Faith Hall of Fame? It all depends on how you choose.
Which brings us to the future. How can you trust God with your future? Wouldn’t it depend on how you see God operating in your past?
Christian Author and speaker, Ellen White, once wrote: In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history. {CET 204.1} (Christian Experience and Teaching by Ellen White)
Did you catch that? We have nothing to fear for our future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us…
How can you trust God with your future? Let me quickly take you through some things that can help, no matter if you are trying to figure out what to take in college or if your world has caved in and you don’t know if you can go on, or if you are just simply seeking to make it through the day. But rather than you hearing my words, let me take you straight to what God, Himself promised.
First of all look at how He has led you in the past. Go over His blessings to you. Look at His miracles in your life. Remember what He did for you on the cross and what He continues to do for you now. If you can see His faithfulness in the past, it is easier to trust God with your future. Has He saved you in an accident or seen you through a critical illness or surgery? Did He provide a way for you to be here at GCA? Has he worked anything out for your family? Can you see his faithfulness in the past? If so, remember it.
Secondly, choose not to worry but to look to God. Choose to trust that God will make a way.
Psa. 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Psa. 37:5 Commit everything you do to the LORD.
Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
When your heart lines up with His heart, He will give you what you desire…which is exactly what He desires. Not only will He give you the desires of your heart, but God himself promises to walk with you.
Is. 43:1 But now, O Jacob, (and here you could insert your own name instead of Jacob) listen to the LORD who created you.
O Israel,(insert your name again) the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
Third, learn to wait on the Lord and seek His guidance.
Lam. 3:25 The LORD is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the LORD.
Waiting quietly can help you refocus your energy on what is really important.
Matt. 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of Goda above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
We often spend so much time and energy in worrying about the future, rather than in seeking God. But it is in the waiting and the seeking that we find our strength.
Fourth, Know that God has a plan for you and it includes hope. Again, though, it is in seeking the Lord that we find that hope.
Jer. 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Is. 40:28-31 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Fifth-Don’t get hung up on past failures. Look expectantly to a new future with God.
Is. 43:18,19“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
God can make you prosper even in the driest of times or the worst of times in your life. And as you grow in your trust relationship with Him, He will cause you to grow stronger and stronger. What He doesn't deliver you from, He will bring you through to in order to strengthen you.
Sixth- Walk each day in trust and you will find new strength
Psa. 20:7,8 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God. 8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm. See, trusting God helps you stand firm
Psa. 125:1 ¶ Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever. 2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever.
Seventh—Look for the next natural step and be willing to take it.
Prov. 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
As you follow His leading, the whole picture will come together for you. If you focus on Jesus, He will order the pieces of your world and they will fit together perfectly. Which reminds me of another story.
There was a man who had a little boy that he loved very much. Everyday after work the man would come home and play with the little boy. He would always spend all of his extra time playing with the little boy.
One night, while the man was at work, he realized that he had extra work to do for the evening, and that he wouldn't be able to play with his little boy. But, he wanted to be able to give the boy something to keep him busy. So, looking around his office, he saw a magazine with a large map of the world on the cover. He got an idea. He removed the map, and then patiently tore it up into small pieces. Then he put all the pieces in his coat pocket.
When he got home, the little boy came running to him and was ready to play. The man explained that he had extra work to do and couldn't play just now, but he led the little boy into the dining room, and taking out all the pieces of the map, he spread them on the table. He explained that it was a map of the world, and that by the time he could put it back together, his extra work would be finished, and they could both play. Surely this would keep the child busy for hours, he thought.
About half an hour later the boy came to the man and said, "Okay, it's finished. Can we play now?”
The man was surprised, saying, "That's impossible. Let's go see." And sure enough, there was the picture of the world, all put together, every piece in it's place.
The man said, "That's amazing ! How did you do that ?" The boy said, "It was simple. On the back of the page was a picture of a man. When I put the man together, I taped it so it wouldn’t mess up, and then I turned it over and the whole world was together.”
The lyrics start this way:
Woke up this morning
And life as you know it
Looks nothing like the kind of life you knew before
All of a sudden
Fear stole the headlines
And it don't feel safe to even step outside your door
In this world you will have trouble
But I have overcome the world
So take heart—- Listen to this.
If you just trust in Jesus, your problems will find resolution. If you trust in Jesus, your fears can be quelled. If you trust Jesus, your future will be sure. If you trust Jesus with your future you will have not only hope, but a very bright future. Pray with me.
Rom. 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This blogpost was taken from the manuscript of a talk I delivered to the students at Georgia-Cumberland Academy on Friday night, Jan. 29, 2021.
