Trusting God - A learning process

What does it mean to TRUST GOD?

Trusting God is a basic element that must be present in order to be a believer. We trust God for our salvation. As we grow in faith so does our trust in God grow. We see God at work in our lives. We see God keeping His promises to us. We are enabled to trust more and more as we remember His past faithfulness to us.

It seems though that there are always areas or situations when we fail to trust. This seems to be true even for the most mature believers. I am reminded of the woman who said to Jesus, “ Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief.” We could as easily say, “ Lord, I trust you. Help me to trust you fully.”

Learning to believe - to trust our Savior in everything is a life long process.

Each of us has particular vulnerable areas that seem to unsettle us. A person might, for example, trust God to provide for financial needs, but be blown away by the prospect of having to travel alone across the country. Or it could be the other way round. OR it could be [and probably is] something totally different that troubles you.

Have you ever said to God, “Lord, I want this and I am trusting that you are going to give it to me. I would be devastated if you didn’t give it to me. I don’t think I could let you be my God if you didn’t give it. Yes, I would have to fire you, Lord. I don’t want to do that, but there it is.” My guess is that you probably never said anything as audacious as that, but has it ever been an intimation of your attitude? Have you ever said, “ Lord, I can’t go on if you don’t heal my child?” or “Lord, I can’t face the world if I lose my job?”or “ Now Lord, let me just tell You what I want you to do, or “Lord, how can I believe that you love me if you don’t ________[ fill in the blank].

God is good. That is what scripture teaches. He is good, no matter what the circumstances. He is using those very circumstances, which may seem quite harsh or disagreeable to us to bring about good. That is where our trust in Him is put to the test. As believers we know that God has the ability to do whatever he chooses to do. He is all-powerful. Sometimes it is hard for us to believe that God is good and he is working out His good will through all the circumstances of life. We can not in our minds reconcile that a good God, who loves us so much that he died on the cross to give us eternal life would also be willing to let us suffer whatever slings and arrows and disappointments we are currently enduring. Yes, we pray for what we think would be good. We pray for our desires, but in the end, we must pray, “Thy will be done.” Thy will be done, because we trust that God is good and whatever happens will be ultimately good even if it is contrary to our deepest, most heartfelt desires.

As we face our present trouble, what ever it is, we must keep in mind that God is working out plans He made before the foundations of the world were laid. How does that give us any help or comfort?

When my precious cousin, Annabelle passed away a few years ago, I felt along with many others that her passing was particularly hard to bear. My mother had gone to her glory only 18 months before after a long illness. In the final month when she was bedridden, it was Annabelle who volunteered to help with her care. She was not able to follow through with that offer, because she was diagnosed with cancer. It was only about a year before her diagnosis that Annabelle experienced a spiritual renewal. Although her life was cut short, she made a tremendous spiritual impact on those around her and many were brought to Christ. Why didn’t the Lord heal her and let her go on doing His work?

That was my question as I drove home from church one Lord’s Day. I was remembering the good times my mother and I had had with her when they were both well. Annabelle was an artist. One day, when my mother and I were visiting she showed us a painting she had started. It was a painting of a lovely Parisian garden that she had visited on trips to France. It was not finished. I wonder if she was able to finish it? That memory got me to thinking.

I have often heard the metaphor: Life is like a painting. Each brush stroke is a tiny part of that life and when all the brush strokes are made the painting is complete.

The only problem with that metaphor is that it did not seem to fit. Something had gone terribly wrong with the painting. I rewrote [in my head] the story of the artist painting the picture so that it would express my feelings at the time.

Once upon a time a landlord rented a studio to an artist. The artist set up his easel and went to work each morning while the light was right, but he always stopped working at precisely the same time each afternoon. The landlord was fascinated by the artist’s work and enjoyed stopping by just after the artist left to view the progress for the day. After a few days it became apparent that the artist was painting a garden. It was going to be a magnificent painting. Such care to detail! As the days went by the landlord was more and more impressed by the beautiful green garden and could not help wondering, was it a real place - or did it exist only in the mind of the artist? Would the artist sell him the painting? Could he afford the price?

Looking at the garden gave the landlord such a feeling of peace and joy that he would be willing to give nearly anything to be able to continue looking at it.

The painting was nearly finished. Then one terrible day the landlord stopped by the studio expecting to see an exquisite finished masterpiece. What he saw was a ruined mess. The artist had obviously and deliberately taken his brush in hand and swiped a garish red in the middle of the canvas! He had vandalized his own creation! He had in those few strokes destroyed utterly the peace and joy that were the heart and soul of that once magnificent painting!

The landlord left the studio and did not return.

The artist continued to paint and his work brought him fame and fortune.

One day a package arrived for the landlord from the artist with a note. “I thought you would like to have this,” it said. “It is the first painting I did in your studio.

Opening the package the landlord was stunned to see a painting of his own precious daughter! He held the painting for a long time taking in the likeness of his child in all the radiant beauty and charm of her youth! “It is my daughter!" he said. “My own daughter!” So overwhelmed was he at receiving this wonderful treasure that it was not until much later that he noticed that the background of the picture was the peaceful green garden he had once thought ruined, but never did he remember the garish red brush strokes that now formed the lips of his lovely child.

Trust God! He is good... and He knows what He is doing!