Trust & Obey

 Trust. That word alone sounds so simple. As believers we share the word "trust" in very simple terms. When someone is in need we encourage them to "Trust in the Lord", or in other words "trust" that everything is going to be okay. By saying to others "Trust in God's plan for your life" or even saying it to ourselves, we are assuming there exists faith. We can't trust what we don't have faith in. We trust that the vehicle we are riding in is going to get us safely to our destination because we have faith in the manufacturer who designed and assembled the vehicle. We didn't see the car being assembled nor did we watch the engineers and designers lay out the blueprint for the vehicle, but we "trust" that they knew what they were doing when they designed the car, truck, van, or SUV. That trust which in most cases is unrelated to first hand knowledge that we possess, puts us into a two ton vehicle just about every day and we do so without hesitation. Our "trust" has merged into the lane of faith, and that faith is demonstrated daily through our own individual actions. So by saying "Trust in the Lord" what we are actually saying is have faith that whatever happens in your life, God has a plan and you are part of it, and whatever happens in your life is in some way part of God's plan. If we believe that is true, then we develop faith, and if we truly have faith, then we get into the vehicle of life each morning and trust that God has a plan and we are traveling each day to our destination. What we do along the trust ride is up to us, if we say we "trust", then we must have faith in God's plan, and if we trust and believe, then we must and will obey God's Holy Bible and follow His commands for the life He gave us to live. 

Why is trusting in God so hard for someone to do? Well, it isn't as long as life is going just the way we want it to go. Going back to our vehicle analogy above, as long as our vehicle is working properly, the tank is full of gas, and there are no visible or audible issues with the vehicle, then we easily "trust" that we can hop in and go for the day's journey. Yet, if smoke is coming out from under the hood, or a clinkity- clank noise is heard when we turn on the ignition, then our trust in the vehicle quickly diminishes and we aren't as confident in our mode of transportation. This holds true for us as humans as well. When life is good, health checks out, bills are paid, and family is fine, it is easy to say, "Yes, I trust in the Lord", and why wouldn't we? God is meeting all our needs and just like the shirt says, "Life is Good". The true challenge in trusting God comes when things are not so good, when life gives us a "flat tire" of sorts. This is where trust turns our faith into action. 

In James 2:14-26 the author challenges us to show our faith in God without showing our faith in action. "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Our "works" as James points out are the demonstration of our trust in God, and then regardless of the circumstances our trust becomes our faith which moves us to action. Or at least that is the way it is supposed to go. Again, trusting in good times is way easier than having faith that God is working through every situation we have going on in our lives and He wants us to build our faith in Him, and that faith is actionable and visible in all we say and all we do regardless of our circumstances or current status in life. 

Where we potentially struggle is when we aren't representing our trust/faith through our works/daily choices. We must strive to be a reflection of God's love in all we do. God's love is witnessed through the actions and steps we take each day to serve others as we live out Jesus' example of servant leadership. In the book of Matthew 25, Jesus shares the parable of the goats and the sheep through which He explains how trusting in Him is demonstrated by our works for Him or our lack of faith in Him is played out through the absence of our acts of service to our fellow man. This paradox is presented in terms of service to God through our service to others. "I was hungry and you either fed me or ignored me, I was thirsty and you either gave me a drink or you denied my thirst, I was a stranger and you either invited me in or you denied me access, I was without a warm coat and you either gave me yours or you buttoned yours up and walked on, I was sick and you either took care of me or you ignored my illness, I was imprisoned and you either came to visit me or you forgot all about my very existence." (Matthew 25:35-43) The follow through on that set of scriptures is summed up by Jesus in saying "What you did or didn't do for the least of these you did or didn't do for me." (Matthew 25: 40-45). Thus trusting is demonstrated through faith, and faith is demonstrated through our works, which is carried out through service to others regardless of our own situations in life.

As our time together comes to a close today, I want to encourage you in growing your trust factor by allowing your faith to move you to service to others in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Things may be tough, things may be rough, and the end may be nowhere in sight, yet our faith can only be witnessed by others through our very service to them. When I stand before God, my hope is that He will look at me and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:23). My prayer is that God will meet with you and offer you the same invitation to enter into His Kingdom. Amen.

Coach Carter