Day 5 - Who Do We Trust?
Scripture focus: We don't want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn't think we were going to make it. We felt like we'd been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he's the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don't want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God's deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 The Message
Dr. Dale Ryan reports that all of us would get a 100% score on the God quiz that asks the question: is God love? He goes on to say that our problem is not so much our theology as it is who we actually serve. In other words, the God we serve may not be the same one we report to believe in. We believe God is love but act as if we serve a distant, disconnected God who wants us to make him happy. We believe God is love but quickly ask why God allowed suffering to happen in our lives. We believe God is love but feel as if God is withholding the good life from us. And if we act, ask and feel like this – do we really truly know that God is love?
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he reports to his readers that he, too, struggled when faced with trials and troubles. I wonder if he questioned God’s love when he believed he was on death row. Ultimately, Paul experiences God’s rescue. And it seems that these experiences increase Paul’s trust in God’s love.
During dinner around our table we were recalling the theology found in the movie Evan Almighty. In the movie, the characters speculate about prayer. They wonder if when we pray for something like courage, does God give us courage, or provide us opportunities to practice being courageous? Pete says it reminds him of the book of Joshua. God never promises Joshua courage. What he says is that he will be with Joshua. And then Joshua has many opportunities to practice believing God. As he believes, he practices his courage.
I don’t know how to parse out and fully comprehend all the reasons for our hurts, habits and hang-ups. But I do know this. Every day we have the opportunity to choose to believe God is love. We can increase our consciousness by reminding ourselves of his loving intentions – and then practice living as joyful participants in God’s rescue operation. Tomorrow we look at some practical suggestions for how to proceed.
Recommended reading: Genesis 16-19
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